<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Swipe Right by DisConsulate</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26355175">Swipe Right</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisConsulate/pseuds/DisConsulate'>DisConsulate</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aang is an asexual idol, F/F, Feeling my age, Gen, Goth Zuko, M/M, Millennials, Multi, Sokka is a bisexual trainwreck, This is the most millennial thing I've ever written, Tinder, Toph is a big old lesbian, Zuko is in a band, istg, these boys</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:15:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,526</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26355175</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisConsulate/pseuds/DisConsulate</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After being definitively dumped by Suki for the final time with no chance of getting back together, Sokka decides to ease his loneliness the modern way: with Tinder. But when he finds Zuko's profile, a poorly planned joke turns into something vastly more complicated. It's a match!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang &amp; Sokka (Avatar), Aang (Avatar) &amp; Everyone, Jet/Zuko (Avatar), Katara &amp; Sokka (Avatar), Katara &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Sokka &amp; Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Suki/Ty Lee (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>83</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>429</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. You Matched!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sokka was bored and tipsy. He was on his second pale ale of the afternoon, lounging in his boxers on the living room futon watching pro hockey replays and waiting, just <em> waiting </em>, for the sunbeams leaking in through the blinds to climb up to his eye level. A rumble in his stomach preceded a stupendous belch that he made zero effort to control or downplay, interrupting the white noise commentary briefly. As he sat, he scratched his belly idly--softening now that he was no longer regularly in sports, the once sharp cut canyons of abdominal muscle now smooth valleys--and pondered the mystery of how he had been reduced to such a state of abject bachelorhood.</p><p>He picked up his phone in his right hand and scrolled back through his recent messages. Here’s one from Suki telling him she would be late to happy hour. Here’s another from Katara reminding him to call Gran Gran about her birthday next week telling her whether he would be able to go or not. Here’s yet another from Toph and her famously terrible speech-to-text autocorrector which was either a hate letter about ducks or Toph bitching about her ex girlfriend. <em> Yet again </em>.</p><p>Sokka scrolled through his insta feed, liking all of Aang’s pictures of surfing and beach yoga in Bali. He missed the goober and checked his calendar app to remind himself when Aang was getting back to the States. There were two more weeks of waiting. Life was meaningless. A few posts surfaced from Suki post-dance class smiling and chucking deuces with a pretty girl in pink with a long brown fringe. Sokka also liked these and left an admiring comment on a dance video. Two posts showed up from Zuko: one a poster of his band’s next gig, and another a brooding shot taken at what looked like a tea house of Zuko looking out the window with a small frown on his face. Sokka liked the poster but ignored the artsy shot. It’d be weird, since he and Zuko didn’t really hang out much these days, much less regularly exchange messages. </p><p>Sokka went through his other social media accounts, marking things as read, watching videos of fat seals when they came into his feed, and generally allowing himself to become a wilting cabbage plant. There was indeed a reason for his present malaise, and he checked his messenger app once more to remind himself of it.</p><p>He opened the Team Avatar group chat and scrolled up to about a week ago. The chat had everyone, and most days it was either Aang spamming them with nature photos and memes or the girls talking about sports. Occasionally they would make plans, most of the time they just messaged about whatever. Once in a blue moon, things would get serious--Toph running away from home, for instance, or Zuko opening up just the tiniest bit about his abusive father. Sokka still had nightmares of the time Aang almost died, although everyone had tacitly agreed to stop bringing that up. The serious moments weren’t always tragic, either, although Sokka felt this most recent one had just a hint of tragedy.</p><p> </p><p>Suki: Hey everyone, so I wanted to say this here so that we’re all on the same page.</p><p>Suki: I’ve talked to some of you about it, but I’ve made a decision and I want to share it with you all.</p><p>Zuko: A decision about what?</p><p>Suki: Well, it’s less of a decision and more of a realization. About myself.</p><p>Suki: You see, I’ve come to realize that I might not be entirely straight.</p><p>Suki: Actually, if I’m being honest, I’m definitely not.</p><p>Suki: I’ve always thought women were attractive, but I’m realizing that it’s more than just admiration. It runs deeper than that.</p><p>Suki: It’s been something I’ve wanted to explore about myself for a while, but I didn’t really decide to do so until recently. </p><p>Suki: So that’s it! I’m not straight. </p><p>Toph: Believe me, honeybunch, no one is surprised you like the ladies</p><p>Katara: I’m a little surprised, to be honest, but I’m glad you could finally tell us!</p><p>Aang: Yeah! You know we’ll accept you no matter what kind of person you love, just as long as they aren’t a jerk!</p><p>Zuko: You know I’m in no position to think badly of you for questioning your sexuality.</p><p>Aang: Really? What do you mean by that, Zuko?</p><p>Toph: Oh I think you know, Twinkletoes.</p><p>Katara: Hey, this is about Suki, stay on topic. Should we do something to celebrate your coming out?</p><p>Suki: Well, I’m not sure I’m ready for a coming out party just yet. </p><p>Sokka: I think it’s a good idea. </p><p>Suki: Really?</p><p>Sokka: Yeah, why not? My apartment’s got plenty of room for something low key, or we could take over Aang’s pad if he’s okay with it.</p><p>Toph: I’m bringing the keg.</p><p>Katara: No you are not, Toph, not after what happened last time.</p><p>Toph: Fine, then I’m bringing the watermelon.</p><p>Aang: Yes! Party at my place!</p><p>Suki: Guys, I really didn’t want to make this a big thing.</p><p>Sokka: No no, shh, shh, let us throw you a party.</p><p>Suki: Are you sure you’re okay with it?</p><p>Sokka: Of course! I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re happy for you.</p><p> </p><p>That is what Sokka had said, and that is what he had meant, but the elephant badger in the room that Katara had later asked him about only once was hard to ignore. In high school, Suki and Sokka had dated, and it had been pretty serious. Things got rockier in college--long distances, life changes, new discoveries about themselves--and they had settled into a pattern of date, fight, break up, make up, repeat. </p><p>The most recent iteration of the cycle had them in the post-make up lull. They had fought about something stupid, and Suki had thrown out, “You never <em> see </em> me for who I am, Sokka!” Which had ended the argument and their relationship again. Sokka had thought long and hard about that sentence, and she hadn’t been entirely off-base. After her coming out, he realized there was a whole other dimension to it than him just being a sub-par boyfriend who idolized her more than genuinely loved her. And with her stated interest in experimenting with her sexuality, it seemed like the final nail in the coffin for their romance.</p><p> </p><p>Sokka finished off his pale ale and scrolled over to an app he hadn’t opened in a good six months: Tinder. He tapped it open. He’d downloaded it after the first break up, probably at Katara’s suggestion so he could meet people outside of his major, and it had been a spectacular failure. The longest-lasting relationship he’d gotten out of it was with an Asian studies major named Yue, who broke up with him right before transferring to another school, and the best he had managed to get ever since was the occasional regrettable hookup. Still, if he was going to pull himself out of this rut, a quick rut might just do the trick.</p><p>He checked his profile was up to date--his profile pic was a year old, and was of him surfing at Hawaii, but he didn’t have a better one and he was far too lazy to move from his seated position much less throw together something for a Tinder photo shoot--and then got to swiping.</p><p>A probably teenaged girl with brown hair posing next to a vase. Left.</p><p>A woman slightly older than himself with her dog. Right.</p><p>Another older woman in a sundress outside. Left.</p><p>A woman somewhat younger than himself with killer makeup and style. Left.</p><p>A man on a shiny moped--and Sokka blinked for a moment before remembering that he had set his gender preferences to both men and women a while back and had just never changed it--who had ridiculous facial hair. Left.</p><p>He swiped right a few more times, but mostly he found his options to be unsatisfyingly generic. There were a few matches, but he didn’t have the energy to follow up just yet. He was entering a swiping fugue state when a profile pic popped up that he recognized immediately.</p><p>The slightly dark filter, the brooding expression looking right, the steam rising up from the mug of black tea casually clutched in two hands, the burgundy cable knit sweater that clung to a well-muscled frame, the dark fringe swept back. Sokka felt several emotions on seeing Zuko crop up on Tinder: (1. Genuine surprise, since he knew little of Zuko’s romantic tribulations and assumed no news was good news. Apparently not. (2. Astonishment at how striking the photo was with some minimal editing and a filter. This was definitely not the version that had appeared on insta a few hours ago. (3. Slightly awed by how handsome Zuko was. (4. Wait, can we go back a minute to the part where the photo was current, as in he had clearly posted this today, possibly even within the hour? Was Zuko <em> that </em> thirsty? (5. A dawning feeling of wickedness in his gut, rallying his flagging spirits for a draft campaign to give Zuko exactly as much shit as was socially acceptable when one discovers one’s friend’s dating profile. It was a precisely calibrated amount which would need to be commensurate to the level of cringe and desperation exuded by the profile, tempered only by the bounds of friendship.</p><p>Sokka dove into Zuko’s profile to gather data. There were several photos: Zuko brooding at the beach (the same Hawaii trip as Sokka’s own profile. Sokka cringed); Zuko shredding on his guitar at a show (this might’ve been a pic Sokka had taken, actually, judging from the angle); Zuko smiling softly at a turtle duckling (and holy fuck the man had a soft side <em> who knew </em>); Zuko wearing a pair of large headphones in a recording studio, singing something. It took Sokka a second to realize that Zuko only concealed his scar in the first pic, but in all the others it was not concealed. He knew Zuko could be a little sensitive about it, and felt a stab of admiration at his bravery.</p><p>The bio itself was fairly minimal. Zuko was looking for dates and a relationship (what a romantic), would prefer to meet in a public place (how considerate of him), and would not respond to requests for photos. At the final line, Sokka nearly lost it: ‘I would be honored to be your date for an evening, and your partner for longer, if you will have me.’</p><p>“Zuko, what the fuck,” Sokka snickered. He wasn’t sure what made him do it--maybe it was the two pale ales--but he decided at that moment that it would be the funniest thing in the world if he swiped right. In his mind, the scene of him confronting Zuko about his profile, and the shock that such an honorable catch didn’t match with him, was hilarious and needed to be played out. He did not probably need to swipe to make it so, but the extra edge of authenticity was what his tipsy mind demanded. So he swiped.</p><p>A moment later, he received the notification: it’s a match!</p><p>“...wait, what.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Zuko was practicing his guitar at home when his phone pinged. A notification from Tinder. Zuko didn’t receive them every day, but they came at regular intervals more or less. Zuko’s love life was not exactly complex, but certainly not something he required the added stress of a dating app to spice up. Having said that, he also wasn’t committed enough to close the door on it just yet. Leaving his guitar on his knees, he reached over to grab his phone and check who had matched him today.</p><p>His heart stopped. His stomach dropped. His blood froze.</p><p>Sokka had matched with him on Tinder. Sokka was <em> online </em> and had <em> matched with him </em> on <em> Tinder </em>.</p><p>Zuko didn’t even know where to begin with this. Should he message first? Should he wait for Sokka to make the first move? He considered there was about a fifty percent chance that Sokka had swiped right as a joke--his sense of humor was just like that sometimes--but he was also aware that Sokka was probably in a lonely slump after Suki basically publicly broke their relationship cycle once and for all. </p><p>Zuko’s thumbs were both poised over the keyboard, phone gripped tightly now as he tried to compose something to say. Unfortunately, his gifts as a lyricist often failed to translate into normal speech, and he ended up typing and deleting several drafts before putting his phone down so he could put his guitar away. He carefully placed it back into its soft case, although he refrained from zipping it up for the time being.</p><p>He paused, his fingers resting on the nylon as a rush of emotion welled up inside him. Forgotten embers of a crush flared back to life as he thought back to all the long hours spent agonizing over Sokka’s clearly neglected profile. Did he dare? In the end, he did, and instead of immediately deleting his profile and starting anew to hide the evidence he sat on his hands and waited. And waited. And then gave up waiting for a response from someone who he could probably have more easily directly confessed to.</p><p>He was in the middle of typing the word ‘hey’ for the sixth time when his messenger app popped up, thwarting him.</p><p> </p><p>Jet: hey babe</p><p>Zuko: Hey</p><p>Jet: u miss me?</p><p>Zuko: I was in the middle of practice. What do you want?</p><p>Jet: aw i miss u too</p><p>Jet: was wonderin if ur up tonite</p><p> </p><p>Zuko thought about it. This thing with Sokka seemed important, but Zuko didn’t want to overthink things to the point of stressing himself out. In fact, he probably needed to <em> de </em>stress. He replied to Jet.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko: Yeah. Come over whenever you like</p><p>Jet: cool c u soon xoxo</p><p> </p><p>Zuko sighed and closed his phone, and then finished putting his guitar away. He’d better get ready now before Jet arrived. He placed the guitar case onto a rack, did some minimal tidying, and then shucked his shirt on the way to the bathroom. </p><p>He was just finishing up his shower when there was a knock at the door. He turned off the water and, wrapping a fluffy towel around his waist, checked the peephole. Outside stood Jet, his shaggy brown hair lightly obscuring his eyebrows, a cigarette between his lips. He took a drag on it as Zuko unlocked the chain and let him inside. </p><p>“My landlady hates it when you smoke in the hall,” Zuko said. Jet exhaled, blowing the smoke just past Zuko’s face. His eyes swept down Zuko’s dripping, fit frame.</p><p>“Well I wouldn’t have lit it if I’d known you were this eager,” Jet replied. Zuko reached up and took the cigarette from Jet, taking a puff and putting it out in a nearby mug. He blew a retaliatory cloud in Jet’s face.</p><p>“Usually whenever you ask me if I’m up you’re already outside my building,” Zuko said.</p><p>“Well it sounds bad when you put it that way,” Jet replied with a smirk.</p><p>“I needed a distraction tonight anyway,” Zuko said, tugging Jet forward by his belt.</p><p>“Lucky me,” Jet said as Zuko dropped to his knees. </p><p>“Don’t talk,” Zuko said, unbuttoning Jet’s jeans.</p><p> </p><p>Jet wouldn’t say that he loved Zuko. He was possessive of him, rather. The feelings that coiled in his gut as he looked down at Zuko with his lips wrapped around his cock was one of jealous ownership. The mouth that sucked on him, the tongue that was licking his shaft, those belonged to <em> Jet</em>. The hair that he grabbed and the throat he forced his dick deeper down, those also belonged to him. The muffled sounds that he heard of Zuko choking a little, the harsh nasal exhales as he tried to breath around Jet’s erection, those were being made by Jet’s sex toy. They transformed into loud moans beneath him when they moved to the bedroom, and continued late into the evening.</p><p> </p><p>Afterwards, Jet lounged on the bed, another cigarette in his mouth. Zuko lay nearby facedown, glistening in sweat, breath finally settling from the wild panting that came after intense physical exertion. </p><p>"I'm gonna order takeout," Zuko said after a moment. "Want me to order you something?"</p><p>"Shrimp lo mein," Jet replied, slapping Zuko's ass as he stood up off the bed. Zuko made the order and then went to shower off, dropping his phone on the bedside table. Jet smiled, satisfied, listening to the water and imagining showering with his toy.  </p><p>His afterglow fantasy was interrupted by a series of pings. He shot a glare over at Zuko's phone, which pinged again. <em> Who had the audacity. </em></p><p>Jet had long ago cracked the password on the screen lock, and routinely browsed through Zuko's phone when he was away. Jet was canny enough not to let on that he snooped--Zuko would get upset, and it would be such a chore getting back into his pants after that--and as such he had to be careful about checking notifications.</p><p>This recent set was all from Tinder. Jet frowned, opening the app and looking at Zuko's inbox rather than check the notifications directly. The name attached to them was Sokka, which struck Jet as familiar.</p><p>He closed Tinder and switched over to Zuko's social media apps and quickly found his target.</p><p>"So you matched your friend in the Gaang," Jet muttered. This would be tricky. He couldn't just slide into Sokka's dm's to tell him off without risking his interference getting back to Zuko, and he knew most of Zuko's close friend group by reputation and repeated snooping.</p><p>He knew, for instance, that Sokka dated one of the girls in their group. That was a potential weakness. Maybe Sokka wasn't even gay! In any case, he would need to nip this little experiment in the bud.</p><p>He dropped the phone with the offending messages on the bedside table as Zuko came back from the shower.</p><p>"You up for more after dinner?" Jet asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively. </p><p>"Not tonight," Zuko said. </p><p>"Aw, you're kicking me out?" Jet pouted.</p><p>"I'm feeding you dinner," Zuko pointed out. "That's plenty."</p><p>"When you're hot you're fire," Jet replied, stretching out. "But when you're cold, you're ice cold."</p><p>"Shut up and get dressed," Zuko said, rolling his eyes and throwing Jet's pants at him.</p><p> </p><p>Later, when Jet was gone and Zuko fed, he felt the familiar gnawing worry that came whenever he didn't check his phone for a long time while expecting a message. He wasn't expecting one, precisely, but even exhausting himself hadn't totally satiated the part of him that dared to hope. He reached for his phone. </p><p>There were Tinder notifications. Multiple messages. His heart raced as he opened them.</p><p> </p><p>Sokka: Hey</p><p>Sokka: So</p><p>Sokka: This might be an awkward question to ask</p><p>Sokka: But I was scrolling through tinder and found this really sappy profile</p><p>Sokka: And I was totally planning on giving you endless shit for it</p><p>Sokka: But it looks like we match</p><p>Sokka: What's uh</p><p>Sokka: What's up with that?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Mistakes Were Made</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Zuko stood at the crossroads of destiny, which is to say he sat at his kitchen table with his phone in his hands next to an empty delivery carton that smelled of sesame oil and shame. He knew he had to make a choice, and he had to make it quickly--leaving Sokka </span>
  <em>
    <span>his friend </span>
  </em>
  <span>on read </span>
  <em>
    <span>on Tinder</span>
  </em>
  <span> would be more awkward than actually responding. He took a deep breath through his nose and did some quick mental calculus: owning up to the past crush might make things weird in the short term, but closure was the best path towards healing; on the other hand, playing off the whole thing as a joke that Zuko had beaten Sokka to might smooth things over in the short term, leaving open the question of whether or not there was a real possibility that they might have missed. He heard his uncle’s voice admonishing him about being true to himself, and he knew his reply.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: Do you want the short version?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: There’s a long version?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: Not really.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Okay. Short version first, then</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: I had a crush on you a while ago but I was too awkward to tell you directly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: …</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Now when you say a while ago</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: A couple of years, maybe? I haven’t really thought about it recently</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This was a lie. It had been only one year, but Zuko genuinely hadn’t thought about it in several weeks, what with band practice and general life stress.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Ouch that’s cold</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: You were dating Suki at the time, what chance did I have realistically?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Yeah, that’s fair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: So</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Do you still feel that way or…?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: Or what.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Well, the way you put it, it sounds like you’re over it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: You’re cute, buddy, but I’m not going to waste my time pining over someone who’s already taken.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Zuko I’ve heard your band.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: And incidentally, is that pic of you absolutely slamming your guitar one that I took?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: Yes, actually.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: It is a pretty awesome pic</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Really shows off your abs</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: You might be surprised at how often that one gets me laid.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: You’re welcome</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: To get back to your question, yes, I’m basically over it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: You sure?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: Why would I not be sure?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: I’unno. When Suki and I broke up I did some soul searching myself</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: Which time?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: haha fuck you</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: Is that an offer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: You know, if I wasn’t entirely sure you were fucking with me right now</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Well, I dunno</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: I want to be respectful of your feelings. It’s shitty to make fun of someone because of the way they feel, and I value you as a friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: It’s okay, Katara, you can give the phone back to Sokka.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: You know what</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko grinned. They continued bantering in the chat much longer than was strictly speaking necessary or appropriate to resolve the issue. No date plans were made, and there were no further declarations of unrequited attraction, but it was still almost midnight when Zuko looked at the clock next. He blinked, said goodbye to Sokka, and shut his phone off for the night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was fine. They were still friends and it wasn’t weird. Zuko tucked himself into bed and fell into a comfortable sleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t use Sokka’s place for Suki’s coming out party, which was probably smart. Aang had told Sokka his new door code, and so he went over ahead of time to dust the place and also hide all the breakables. There wasn’t much he needed to do--Aang was practically an ascetic--except put away the expensive incense burners and take down the wind chime. He also rolled up Aang’s nicer looking throw rugs and put them in a closet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Katara arrived shortly after to prepare the bar, and Toph and Zuko showed up together smelling of cigarettes. Toph had a keg over each shoulder, to Katara’s vocal frustration--”You said you were only bringing one!” “And you said I couldn’t bring one.” “This isn’t what I meant, Toph, and you know it!”--and Zuko carried several large bags of chips and salsa. Cash was dropped into a fish bowl to pay for pizza later, and when Suki arrived everything was arranged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys, you really didn’t need to,” she said, tearing up a little.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s get this party started!” Toph yelled, double fisting solo cups. It was no time at all before Sokka was on his third beer, cheap though it was, and he was laughing watching Katara and Toph engaging in a heated drinking contest over a stack of empty pizza boxes. Suki flopped down next to him and gave him a smile, which he returned wordlessly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great party, huh?” she said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve never seen Toph pound so many beers in a minute,” Sokka said. “I’m not sure whether to be impressed or concerned.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Toph!” Suki called over. “No getting alcohol poisoning at my coming out party!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thissis nuttin,” Toph yelled back, speech slurring. “Ai ken take any wonna you bitches. WHO WANTS TO GO?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She threw back her cup and crushed it against her forehead with a roar. Katara, face beet red and eyebrows twitching lividly, drank two cups of her own and crushed them both in her fists.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“YOU’RE ON,” she challenged back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“BRING IT, SUGAR QUEEN.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever it was somehow involved arm wrestling. Sokka and Suki merely looked on in amazement until the combatants both passed out without a winner declared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should move them in case they puke,” Suki said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, let me give you a hand with that,” Sokka replied, and the two of them shifted Toph and Katara onto their sides.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Sokka,” Suki said. Sokka, who had been eyeing a set of permanent markers on one of Aang’s shelves, looked up confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I was worried things would be a little weird between us,” she said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear nervously. Sokka found the gesture extremely cute, and he felt a stabbing pain in his heart. “Since, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” he said, shifting over towards her so that he could pat her on the shoulder. “I’m not going to say that I’m not sad about some things. But you were right: I loved the idea of us being together more than I loved you. You should go out there and find a nice lady who will cherish you for always.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His speech was a bit more earnest and slurry than he wanted, but Suki just giggled and flicked his forehead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goof,” she said. “Where was this consideration six months ago?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t this drunk six months ago,” Sokka replied, getting up to refill his cup. Suki looked around, her brow furrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, where’s Zuko? He didn’t leave yet, did he?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think he went outside for a smoke,” Sokka said, also looking. “I’ll go check on him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh sure, leave me to babysit the drunkards,” Suki called after him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The night air was bracing as Sokka stepped out. There was a small square of grass outside that could plausibly be called a ‘lawn,’ which was next to a ‘tree,’ and the line of trash bins for the complex. Zuko stood near this, arms folded, a cigarette hanging in his left hand. A trail of smoke floated upwards in a spiral that dissipated at about head level. Sokka regarded this tableau with eyes narrowed, sipping his beer. Zuko was the least social of the group, it was true, but there were three cigarette butts on the ground next to him. How long had he been out here?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Someone call the fire department,” Sokka said, sidling up. “We got a burning hottie out here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko snorted and looked over at Sokka, smirking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that supposed to be a pickup line?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>honored</span>
  </em>
  <span> if you thought so,” Sokka grinned cheekily. Zuko swatted him lightly on the shoulder. “Nah, Toph and Katara passed out already.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t want to be alone with your ex?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Sokka said, his shrug becoming more exaggerated with his intoxication. “It’s not exactly that. But I’m about…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked into his cup and tried to measure how much was left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...half a cup away from doing something stupid, and I’d rather not have the person who witnesses that be her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko’s shoulders shook a little as he laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, so you’ll mock my dating profile but run to me for your drunken mistakes. What an honor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey hey hey,” Sokka said, turning to Zuko and poking a finger against his shoulder. “I already said I didn’t want to…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he stopped. Something about the way the light of the stars and the street lamps illuminating Zuko’s face stirred the lonely part of his heart. The light haze of the cigarette smoke refracting the orange and white was like a filter that softened the deep shadows around Zuko’s jaw. It was alluring. Sokka’s finger relaxed to a light touch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His brain was playing catch-up with his sensory inputs, focusing simultaneously on trying to finish the sentence and also analyzing in great detail every facet of Zuko’s profile. He licked his lips and tried again, Zuko’s eyebrow raising in bemusement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t want to do…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do what?” Zuko asked, shifting a little uncomfortably under Sokka’s now intense gaze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Sokka said, and then he leaned forward and kissed Zuko on the lips. Zuko stepped back a little, shocked, at the same time Sokka stepped back, his face screwed up in disgust.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sokka what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You taste like cigarettes,” Sokka said, wiping his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ve been smoking,” Zuko replied, taking another drag to calm his shaking hands. “Is this what you meant by ‘something stupid’?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That wasn’t the stupid thing,” Sokka said, swirling his beer a little and staring at it critically. He downed it and tossed the cup into a nearby trash bin. “This is the stupid thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He grabbed Zuko’s face and pulled him in for another kiss, deeper and fueled by loneliness and alcohol. It lasted half a second longer, and this time it was Zuko making the disgusted face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your mouth tastes like beer,” he griped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Duh, I’ve been drinking beer,” Sokka replied. His right hand was on Zuko’s neck, and his left hand had drifted down to settle on Zuko’s waist. There was a brief pause, the two of them looking down at it, and then up at each other. They came forward together, lips crashing into each other as Sokka overcompensated for his drunkenness. He slipped his tongue into Zuko’s gross, smokey mouth, garnering a surprised but aroused moan. He stroked the roof of Zuko’s mouth before pulling out. Zuko’s arms had come up to his shoulders, his free hand gently holding Sokka’s head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They might’ve stayed like that for seconds, minutes, or hours. Time meant nothing to either of them, but the sudden and loud ring of a cell phone certainly did. Sokka leaned back and glared at the sky. His hands were now clamped firmly on Zuko’s hips, and there was little if any space left between them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, seeing Suki’s name.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” he snapped. Zuko took the opportunity to actually put out the cigarette he had been holding the whole time. He immediately lit another one, not looking in Sokka’s direction as he did so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you?” Suki demanded, sounding panicked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m right outside. Did you really need to call?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sokka, just get in here right now Toph’s about to vomit everywhere!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh shit,” Sokka said as the call disconnected. He and Zuko rushed back in, and fortunately Toph was able to hold it together long enough for the three of them to wrangle her into Aang’s bathroom. Katara, for her part, was gracefully sprawled on the ground, moaning about wine dark seas from beneath a washcloth and clutching her stomach. While Zuko held back Toph’s hair, Sokka looked around the living room, destroyed by the evening’s shenanigans.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who wants ice cream next?” he said, doing his best to channel his inner Aang. Toph and Katara both rallied, and the five of them trekked over to a 7-Eleven for ice cream, water, and aspirin. The evening blended into a muddled night of laughing, shenanigans, and Ben &amp; Jerry’s that Sokka floated through on a cloud of intoxication. A moment of clarity came later while they were all sitting outside in the 7-Eleven parking lot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Zuko, lemme buy you another ice cream,” Sokka said, his voice a slurry mess, his heart overflowing with goodwill.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No thanks, I’m good,” Zuko replied, checking his phone and not looking Sokka’s way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nnnnno, Zuko, you need another ice cream,” Sokka whined, throwing his arms around Zuko and collapsing into his side like a limp noodle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sokka, can you just stop?” Zuko snapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka felt like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on him, and his brain caught up with what he was doing. He searched Zuko’s face, and found both annoyance and the tense lines of someone trying hard to control their expression. He backed off and went to bother Katara instead, but his euphoria slipped further and further away each time he remembered that look. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka awoke the next morning sprawled on the floor next to a pile composed of Suki, Toph, and the entirety of Aang’s closet. Katara and Zuko were up, Zuko frying something that smelled suspiciously like meat and Katara nursing a steaming mug of coffee while holding an ice pack to her forehead. She looked miserable. Zuko looked tired, but none the worse for wear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka tried to sit up, but immediately regretted it as a rush of dizziness and shameful memories sloshed around his skull.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had kissed Zuko. Like a full-on tonsil diving kiss. One that he, Sokka, had initiated. Right as he had been trying to tell Zuko he didn’t want to mess with his feelings. And what’s worse, he could distinctly recall several points in the night on their way to and from 7-Eleven where they </span>
  <em>
    <span>held hands</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my spirits just kill me,” Sokka said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning to you, too,” Zuko replied, sounding far too chipper for Sokka’s liking. Sokka stumbled up and over to the table where Katara sat. “There’s coffee if you want some, and I went out to buy bacon and eggs.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You bought bacon!?” Sokka asked, his voice full of awe, his body full of pain. “Marry me, Zuko.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not on your life,” Zuko threw over his shoulder as he cooked, but Sokka noticed the way it stiffened and made a mental note to stop gagging on his own boot at the earliest opportunity. What he did instead was shove the boot in deeper.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You think I wouldn’t make a good husband? I’d provide for you,” Sokka said. Zuko finished plating a batch of bacon and placed it on the table between Sokka and Katara.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You only want me for my cooking skills,” he accused playfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey if you won’t marry Sokka, would you marry me?” Katara asked, snatching a piece of bacon from Sokka’s loose grip. Sokka’s face was one of pure betrayal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I never thought I would live to see the day where my own baby sister, in my best friend’s house, steals my man </span>
  <em>
    <span>and my bacon</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’m calling dad and having you disowned.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Katara snickered weakly, clutching the ice pack more securely to her head, but Zuko didn’t respond at all. Sokka felt another stab of guilt as Zuko wordlessly dropped--not placed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>dropped</span>
  </em>
  <span>--another batch of bacon onto the plate.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The breakfast banter resumed as Toph and Suki both woke up in turn and joined them, and when everyone was sufficiently recovered they all went out together to Denny’s for a proper brunch.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka stumbled home. He still felt like shit, but that was less to do with his hangover and more to do with his terrible life choices. He flopped down on the living room futon and whipped out his phone. He decided he didn’t trust his mouth, so he’d better just message Zuko.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Hey about last night</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: And this morning</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: I’m sorry</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: I didn’t want to mess with your feelings, and then I went and did it</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka had to stop typing for a moment, because his heart was yelling at him to compliment Zuko's kissing technique and the way the fluorescent street lamps brought out his eyes, and while those things were true they would also ruin the apology.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: Yeah, I'm not going to pretend what we did was okay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: But it's not a big deal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: We were both drunk. Mistakes were made.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: I'm still sorry</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: The kissing was my fault, and I'm the one who was ribbing you during breakfast</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: Well, as long as you understand, then I accept your apology.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a long, long pause. Sokka saw the little typing bubble appear and disappear several times, his blood pressure climbing higher and higher. Finally, Zuko replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zuko: I think I just need some space. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka: okay</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sokka hit send, locked his phone, and tossed it to the floor. He pressed his hands to his eyes, trying to rub out the tiredness and the regret.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Fuck my life."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Who wants more bants? Because we're getting more bants.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Roman Holiday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sokka and Katara stepped out of the Anchorage airport into a crisp afternoon. The sun was hanging low already, its orange rays backlighting like a halo the grey flyaway hairs of an old woman in an oversized fur-lined blue coat waiting for them outside.</p><p>“Gran-gran!” Katara called, running forward to give her a hug, Sokka close behind.</p><p>“Happy birthday, Gran-gran!” Sokka said, bending down to get a hug after Katara.</p><p>“I’m so glad you came up to visit,” Kanna said. “Now, let’s get those suitcases in the car.”</p><p>“Should you really be driving, Gran-gran?” Katara asked.</p><p>“I can manage a trip to the airport to pick up my grandchildren,” she replied with an indignant huff. “Come on, kids! We’re burning daylight.”</p><p>They loaded their bags into Gran-gran’s old Silverado and drove out of the city and towards the soaring white peaks of the distant snow-capped mountains. The snow had fallen early this year, frosting the pines and coating the ground in several inches. A few clouds crossed the big, clear sky as they drove, painted by the sunset a vibrant orange. </p><p> </p><p>Hours later, Sokka flopped down onto the rickety bed in the spare room at Gran-gran’s rural house. He and Katara would be sharing, but she and Kanna were outside shoveling a path to the woodshed while the stars twinkled in the clear night sky. Sokka checked his phone: it was only 4:30, and there was no wifi signal. He sighed, a deep sigh, which condensed somewhat in the air before his face since the heat from the woodstove in the living room hadn’t quite permeated this space. It was going to be a long four days.</p><p> </p><p>After the near-fiasco that was Sokka’s conduct towards Zuko during and after the party, Sokka had decided that the best thing to do was to slink away in the night and lick his wounds, putting numerous states and an entire other country between himself and his shame. The plane tickets had already been booked--Gran-gran pretended like Sokka had a choice in going, but in fact he did not--and so it was just a matter of packing his bag, cleaning up the apartment, and locking the door behind him.</p><p>“Hey, mopey,” Katara said, coming in from the living room hall still wearing her parka.</p><p>“Mmmrrph,” Sokka said into the duvet.</p><p>“That bad, huh?” Katara replied, sitting down on the bed next to him. </p><p>“Katara, am I a bad person?” Sokka asked, twisting his head so he could look at her without otherwise moving.</p><p>“I mean, you can be an insensitive asshole sometimes,” Katara said, raising an eyebrow at him, and Sokka buried his face again with a despairing moan. “Why, what happened?”</p><p>Sokka sighed deeply again. <em> Alright, let’s have this conversation</em>, he thought. He could put it off, but the thought of being alone with his thoughts was exhausting. He twisted his head so that he was looking away from her this time.</p><p>“So, I found Zuko’s dating profile on Tinder,” he started.</p><p>“Wow, Zuko uses Tinder?” Katara asked, perplexed. “Isn’t he in a band?”</p><p>“Right?” Sokka said, pushing himself up and turning to look at her. “It's not just a legend, Katara, the thirst is real.”</p><p>“Apparently,” she said, leaning back a little to fix him with a knowing smirk. “And how was it you found this Tinder profile?”</p><p>“Ugh. I was also using Tinder. Obviously,” Sokka began, rolling his eyes and flopping back down. “I don’t know. I guess I thought Suki and I were really done this time, so I’d better do something to move on.”</p><p>“You’re not thinking about using Zuko as your rebound, right?” Katara asked as if to confirm her brother was not a complete idiot.</p><p>“No,” Sokka said, reaching over to grab the pillow, hugging it close. “But...”</p><p>“But…?”</p><p>“I...sort of messed with his feelings at the party, and he was pretty upset about it,” Sokka said. “Not that you could tell, he’s got that deadpan look down pat.”</p><p>“What do you mean, ‘sort of messed with’?” Katara asked, and Sokka could hear the imminent lecture coming. He was, however, too embarrassed to effectively lie to her.</p><p>“We might’ve made out while you and Toph were passed out drunk,” Sokka said.</p><p>“Might have?” </p><p>“Yes, Katara, we ‘might have’ made out, and we ‘might have’ also held hands, and I ‘might have’ been flirting with him over breakfast,” Sokka snapped, and Spirits, he was such an asshole. Katara just sat there stunned for a moment.</p><p>“Wow,” she said finally.</p><p>“I know, I messed up,” he said, curling tighter around the pillow. “I found out he had a crush, and I took advantage of that. But I did apologize afterwards.”</p><p>“What did he say?”</p><p>“He said he wanted some space.”</p><p>“<em>Wow</em>.”</p><p>“What’s with that emphasis?” Sokka demanded, turning to look back at her.</p><p>“You <em> really </em> screwed the lion seal on this one, didn’t you, bud?” she said.</p><p>“Don’t remind me,” Sokka said darkly. “Just. You dated him once, right? You’ve got all this insight into how he works. What do I do to fix it?”</p><p>“Well, that depends,” Katara said. “What do you want from him?”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Sokka, come on,” Katara said. “You’re an idiot, but you’re not a fuckboi.”</p><p>“Past experience suggests otherwise,” Sokka retorted.</p><p>“You say that, but I know you, Sokka,” Katara said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “And I know that you don’t do casual hookups with your friends. I mean, would you make out with Aang?”</p><p>“No!” Sokka said, pulling a shocked face. “Aang is too pure for this world, Katara, I could never!”</p><p>“How about Toph?”</p><p>“I’m pretty sure she would break my jaw if I tried it,” Sokka said.</p><p>“So what is it about Zuko that makes him so kissable?” Katara asked. Sokka opened his mouth, but then closed it, fearing that whatever he could say would only incriminate him further. Katara smirked at him and gave him a reassuring pat. “Hey, look on the bright side. You’ve got four days of no wifi and no one around but your family to keep you company. That’s plenty of time to figure things out, and <em> then </em>we can talk about fixing your mistakes.”</p><p>“Okay,” Sokka conceded. “But I’m not playing either of you in cards.”</p><p>“Because you’d lose,” Katara said, examining her gloved hand.</p><p>“A man can only suffer so much indignity in a week, Katara!” </p><p>“Whatever, when you’re finished being dramatic Gran-gran wants help getting ready for dinner.”</p><p>With that, she got up and left Sokka by himself. He rolled around on the bed a few more times, but ultimately forced himself to get up and return to his family. He wasn’t going to solve anything by moping on an empty stomach.</p><p> </p><p>The days bled together in the north. Sunlight was fast and fleeting, and the nights were cold but clear. Kanna remarked that they seemed to have brought their good luck with the weather back home. Sokka busied himself during the light hours doing chores around the house, fixing fences and other basic handiwork around the property, and generally not letting himself sit still for too long. During the night hours, Kanna and Katara sat together in the living room chatting and listening to the radio, or quietly reading or working on sewing projects. Sokka fiddled with some games on his phone, or tried to sit still and pay attention to the news programs Gran-gran favored. He tried darning his own socks even, to mixed results, and eventually Katara booted him out for being a fidgety mess. </p><p>So instead, he went to the woodshed and split logs until his body was too tired to think about Zuko's stupid handsome face looking at him in pain, or the simmering morass of regret that oozed up from his belly at Zuko's last text.</p><p>He hadn't told him he was going to Alaska. He wasn't in any position to volunteer that information himself. Katara may have mentioned it in the group chat, but he hadn't read any of the new messages since the day of the party. Zuko had wanted space, and so the only thing to do was to give that to him while also removing himself from the toxic mope cycle he got into whenever he felt ways about Suki. <em> Spirits</em>, he thought to himself over a breakfast bowl of porridge one morning. <em> I’m such a mess. </em></p><p> </p><p>On the day of Gran-gran’s birthday, the entire family was there: aunts, uncles, cousins, and of course, Sokka and Katara’s father, Hakoda. They all drove into the nearby town for dinner at a seafood grill where Sokka had two beers, and then they rented out a sauna to relax and watch the aurora. Sokka’s buzz was replaced bit by bit with a relaxing warmth as he sat in the hot steam room, his aching arms and back slowly becoming jelly. Hakoda sat down next to him and let out a contented sigh.</p><p>“So, how’s things down south?” he asked Sokka.</p><p>“It’s alright,” Sokka shrugged lightly. “Can’t complain.”</p><p>“That’s good. You still seeing Suki?” Hakoda asked, and the question was innocent but Sokka’s mellow was instantly harshed. </p><p>“No, we’re over,” Sokka said tightly.</p><p>“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that,” Hakoda said. “I know how much she meant to you.”</p><p>“Yeah. She’ll be happier this way,” Sokka said lamely.</p><p>“But it still sucks to know that you’ll never be as special to her as she was to you,” Hakoda completed the thought, and Sokka just nodded.</p><p>“We’ll still be friends,” he said. “But yeah.”</p><p>“You’ll bounce back,” Hakoda said, reaching over to ruffle Sokka’s hair gently. Sokka protested weakly, but didn’t refuse the consolation.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m not worried about Suki,” Sokka said, realizing too late he had put too much emphasis on the name.</p><p>“Oh? Is there someone else on your horizon?”</p><p>“Uh. Nope. Definitely not,” Sokka said, mildly panicked. “Don’t you look at me like that!”</p><p>“Like what?” Hakoda asked innocently. Sokka narrowed his eyes at his father.</p><p>“Did Katara put you up to this?”</p><p>“I don’t gossip with Katara about your love life,” Hakoda responded, stretching out his legs and folding his hands behind his head. “If there’s something going on that I need to know about, I’d rather hear it from you.”</p><p>Sokka frowned for a moment, and then sighed. Moping wasn’t getting him anywhere, but maybe some fatherly advice would help.</p><p>“Well, there is one thing that happened,” he started. “But it wasn’t a good thing.”</p><p>“You can tell me anything, Sokka,” Hakoda replied with a supportive nod. “I won’t judge you.”</p><p>“So, I have this friend who I found out had a crush on me,” Sokka said, suddenly embarrassed. “And they had apparently liked me for a while, but they tried to give up on it because, you know.”</p><p>“Suki,” Hakoda replied as prompted.</p><p>“Right,” Sokka nodded. “But then, Suki and I broke up.”</p><p>“Again.”</p><p>“Yes, dad, again, get off my back about it,” Sokka huffed. “We broke up, but I thought we’d go back to being friends for a bit and then kiss and make up. That’s what we’ve always done in the past. But then, she makes this big announcement to our group of friends, and the upshot is that there’s basically no chance of us getting back together again.”</p><p>“That’s rough, son,” Hakoda said.</p><p>“Anyway,” Sokka’s face flushed as he tried to recount the last week’s events with as little detail as possible. “I was feeling lonely, and I ended up doing some things with that friend of mine who had the crush that hurt them, and which I regret.”</p><p>“Things. Like…?” Hakoda trailed off but made an inserting motion with his fingers. Sokka spluttered.</p><p>“No! Not like that! We just made out, and maybe did some other stuff! Non-sex stuff!”</p><p>“Okay, so what’s the problem then?” Hakoda asked. “Did you apologize?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“And did they forgive you?”</p><p>“They did.”</p><p>“But you still feel bad about it,” Hakoda said.</p><p>“I just can’t stop thinking about it!” Sokka said. “It’s been eating me up all week.”</p><p>“Do you like this person?” Hakoda asked. “As more than a friend, I mean.”</p><p>“See, I don’t know! That’s my problem,” Sokka cried out in frustration. “I can’t think objectively about this at all. When I found out he had a crush on me, it felt good, but I can’t separate how much of that is me just feeling lonely or if I genuinely like him back. I don’t think I do, which just makes me feel worse for acting like I did! But if I don’t like him at all, why do I feel <em>this</em> <em>bad</em>? Either way I used him to make myself feel better about Suki, I guess because I can’t be trusted to make my own decisions when I’m drunk.”</p><p>Hakoda stroked his beard thoughtfully.</p><p>“Isn’t Aang in Bali right now?” he asked.</p><p>“What? Yeah, of course, he’s coming back in like two weeks,” Sokka said, confused.</p><p>“So, it’s Zuko. Never pegged you for the brooding type,” Hakoda said, meeting Sokka’s suddenly panicked gaze.</p><p>“I never said that!”</p><p>“You said, ‘him,’ and, ‘my friend,’ and unless you’ve been leading a double life, that narrows it down a lot,” Hakoda winked. When Sokka looked like he was ready to explode he held up his hands in a mollifying gesture. “I’m not here to rag on you for it. It’s just unexpected.”</p><p>Sokka didn’t have a reply to that, and simply sulked. Hakoda let the silence continue for another minute or two as a puff of steam refreshed the sauna. </p><p>“If you want my advice,” he said at last. “I think you already know what you want to happen here. You just need to be honest with yourself what that is.”</p><p>“What if I mess things up even more?” Sokka asked, voice smaller than an Arctic kangaroo rat. Hakoda placed a firm hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes.</p><p>“Nobody ever found happiness without tripping over their own feet,” Hakoda said. “It takes work to get it right, and a lot of trial and error. You of all people should know that.”</p><p>Sokka nodded. The amount of effort he had put into his relationship with Suki over the years was considerable.</p><p>“Sometimes you have to fight for the ones you love. How is this any different?”</p><p>“I don’t think I am in love with Zuko, dad,” Sokka said, unamused.</p><p>“But he’s still important to you, and even if you never kiss him on his pouty lips again it will mean something to put in the effort to maintain that relationship.”</p><p>“When have I ever described Zuko’s lips as pouty?” Sokka asked, nonplussed.</p><p>“Oh, Katara was showing me some pics she took from your Hawaii trip,” Hakoda said, grinning. “He’d be quite a catch if he didn’t always look like he was in the middle of swallowing a lemon.”</p><p>Sokka burst out laughing. He couldn’t bring himself to be indignant, the image of Zuko posing like a fitness model making a lemon face was too much. He and Hakoda got into a banter-laced shoving match shortly after, and then Sokka decided he wanted to take a dip in the cool water pool for a bit. He paused at the door and glanced back at his father.</p><p>“Thanks, dad,” he said, smiling appreciatively.</p><p>“Anytime, Sokka!” Hakoda returned.</p><p> </p><p>The last day of the trip, Sokka woke up feeling almost chipper. He helped Gran-gran dust the house and make breakfast before Katara shuffled in groaning like a coffee-addicted zombie. He helped clear the ice off the driveway, and split the last logs in the wood shed. He even found he was able to listen to the radio broadcast for longer than five minutes without fidgeting. </p><p>He hadn’t consciously changed anything, but he was now possessed of a clarity of thought and purpose that translated into suddenly being very gung ho about menial labor. He was washing dishes that night after dinner when Kanna shuffled into the kitchen.</p><p>“I’m going to miss you two,” she said with a sad smile.<br/>“We’ll come up for New Year’s, Gran-gran,” Sokka replied, giving her a warm hug.</p><p>He dropped onto his half of the bed and fell sound asleep quickly and peacefully.</p><p> </p><p>The next day, Gran-gran dropped Sokka and Katara off at the airport two hours before their flight. They got past security and found their gate, and spent about ten minutes puttering around the overpriced duty free stores in the terminal. Katara bought herself some Smoothie King while Sokka stuck to bottled water--”You just can’t bring yourself to consume such a girly drink,” “Actually, no, I just don’t want to support stores that charge you ten dollars for a coffee and half a bag of chips,”--and the two of them sat down at a table near a cafe to wait for their boarding call.</p><p>“So, what’s the plan?” Katara asked, sipping her smoothie.</p><p>“About what?” Sokka raised an eyebrow in confusion.</p><p>“About you-know-who,” Katara clarified, nudging Sokka lightly with an elbow and wiggling her eyebrows at him.</p><p>“Oh, right,” Sokka said. “There is no plan.”</p><p>“So, what, you’re just gonna wing it?” Katara asked.</p><p>“No, I’m not going to do anything,” Sokka said. “Look, I apologized for what I did, and he told me he needed space. The ball’s in his court.”</p><p>“Okay, but what about what <em> you </em>want, Sokka?” Katara insisted. Sokka sighed, but smiled at her.</p><p>“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but there’s really not much to talk about. It was actually a really easy decision, once I stopped wallowing in self-pity,” he said. “I am not going to pretend nothing happened between us, but I value Zuko as my friend first, and that’s what I am going to work on when he decides he can talk to me again.”</p><p>“Wow, that’s really mature of you, Sokka!” Katara beamed. </p><p>“I am on occasion graced with timeless wisdom,” Sokka grinned back at her. They spent the next few minutes ribbing each other mercilessly.</p><p>“Well, however this plays out, I’ll be rooting for you,” Katara said and then continued over Sokka’s prepared objection. “Now don’t start with me: I know you, and I know Zuko. You two have chemistry when you just let yourselves be yourselves. But you’re also my big brother and one of my best friends. If you guys are happy, then that’s good enough for me.”</p><p>“Aw, Katara,” Sokka said, eyes welling up a little.</p><p>The boarding call for their flight went out, causing them both to look up. They moved to grab their carry on bags and strolled back towards their gate. Sokka threw an arm around Katara’s shoulder as they walked, giving her an appreciative hug. A moment later she jabbed her finger into his side, causing him to double over. Laughing, he chased her down the terminal, towards the flight that would take them back home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whoever says running away from your problems never helps has never heard of the strategic holiday retreat, a tactic that Sokka utilizes here to great personal effect.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Agni Kai</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Band name? Band name.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sokka held off on checking his phone for new messages until after the plane touched down at MSP and they were in the airport wifi zone. His phone pinged at him for a solid two minutes, during which time he and Katara made their way to the baggage claim. When it calmed down, he scrolled through his notifications, marking most of them as read until he got to his messenger apps.</p><p>Aang had sent more photos from Bali, and a video of a kingfisher duck honking at him through his window. Toph had dictated an entire novel about the accessibility of Red Robin, which Sokka skimmed for a few seconds and then gave up on. Suki had sent a few messages checking in, which he replied to by sending a surreptitious baggage claim selfie with Katara in the background, also checking her messages. Sokka donned sunglasses and duckface for the occasion. </p><p>Disappointingly, Zuko hadn’t messaged him at all. Sokka sighed as Katara tapped him on the shoulder.</p><p>“That’s our bag, can you get it?” she asked. “I really gotta pee.”</p><p>“Okay fine, go,” he said, tromping over to the carousel and snagging their shared suitcase--shared in the sense that was where they’d stuffed their gifts and care packages, since Gran-gran refused to let them leave without at least two jars of something pickled and a whole slab of smoked meat, along with a new sweater each with matching gloves, hats, and socks. He grunted a little as he hefted it, shouldering his own bag and turning towards the pick up zone. He took two steps and then stopped dead.</p><p>Zuko was standing nearby, scanning the area. Sokka’s confusion briefly overwhelmed the spike in anxiety he felt. He looked back at his phone to the neglected group chat notifications.</p><p> </p><p>Toph: Then I crushed it.</p><p>Katara: Hey, so Sokka and I are going to our gran-gran’s house for her birthday next week. Is anyone free to pick us up from the airport?</p><p>Suki: Which day is it?</p><p>Katara: Thursday morning at 11.</p><p>Suki: Darn, I’ve got work Thursday. Toph?</p><p>Toph: Yeah let me just hop in my jaguar and speed on over.</p><p>Suki: Toph, you have a driver though.</p><p>Toph: No, my parents have a driver, and he’s on vacation next week.</p><p>Zuko: I can do it.</p><p>Katara: Don’t you have a gig next Saturday? If you need to practice we can pool for a taxi.</p><p>Zuko: I’m going to choose not to be offended at the suggestion that I can’t take a practice break two days before my show to pick up my friends from the airport.</p><p>Katara: Okay, jeez, sorry. </p><p>Zuko: How much stuff are you bringing?</p><p>Katara: Just our backpacks, but gran-gran always gives us presents.</p><p>Zuko: I’ll clean out the trunk then.</p><p>Katara: Thanks, Zuko, this is a big help!</p><p> </p><p>Sokka looked up from his phone and made eye contact with Zuko. He wasn’t sure what his face muscles were doing, but Zuko gave him a small smile and a wave and <em> spirits did his heart just skip a fucking beat? </em>He chalked it up to travel fatigue and generalized anxiety centered around this boy who was now walking up to him.</p><p>“Hey,” Zuko said.</p><p>“Hi,” Sokka replied, unable to move his jaws into any other configuration.</p><p>“Where’s Katara?” Zuko asked, looking around.</p><p>“She uh, went to the bathroom,” Sokka said. “Did you just get here?”</p><p>“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure I can’t park for too long,” Zuko said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. </p><p>“Okay, then we’d better get this stuff packed before you get a ticket,” Sokka said. Zuko reached out and grabbed the handle on the suitcase. “Uh, Zuko?”</p><p>“Let me take this. You look pretty tired,” Zuko said, and Sokka automatically released the suitcase. He wasn’t able to argue at the moment, so instead he pulled out his phone and messaged Katara.</p><p> </p><p>Sokka: hey, found Zuko, going to pack his car before he gets towed.</p><p>Katara: Okay, which gate?</p><p>Sokka: gate 3</p><p> </p><p>They tossed the suitcase and Sokka’s bag in the back and loitered for a bit outside while cars and taxis came and went. Zuko leaned against the car with his arms crossed, his usual neutral pose, but it made Sokka antsy.</p><p>“Hey,” he said at last.</p><p>“Hm?” Zuko looked up.</p><p>“I just wanted to say, before Katara gets back,” Sokka cleared his throat. “At the risk of making things weird again, I think of you as a really good friend, above anything else that might happen between us.”</p><p>“Sokka, it’s okay,” Zuko said, a little bemused.</p><p>“It’s been eating me up inside, though,” Sokka scratched the back of his neck. “I feel like I used you for selfish reasons, and you don’t deserve me pushing my emotional issues onto you. So let me make it up to you sometime.”</p><p>Zuko thought about it for a moment, and then said, “Okay, sure. What did you have in mind?”</p><p>“I…” Sokka said, excitement dying in his throat. “I did not think this far ahead, to be honest. I didn’t expect to be talking to you again this soon?”</p><p>“I said I would be picking you guys up from the airport.”</p><p>“Well, I haven't checked the group chat since that night,” Sokka said, cheeks heating up.</p><p>“Sure,” Zuko raised an eyebrow. “Well, step one would be don’t ghost the group chat for a week. Step two, you can pay for lunch.”</p><p>“Sokka’s buying lunch?” Katara said, emerging from the gate with her backpack and an iced coffee.</p><p>“I did not agree to that,” Sokka said, looking at her in alarm, seeing her mentally running the figures on expensive mid-range family restaurants in their area.</p><p>“Yes, you did,” Zuko said. “Besides, you owe me an ice cream from last time.”</p><p>“You said you didn’t want one!” </p><p>“And now I do,” Zuko replied, getting into the driver’s seat. Katara gave him just the <em> most smug </em> look as she slid into the back passenger seat. Sokka felt that there were times in his life where everyone he knew and the stars themselves conspired to distress him, and this was certainly one of those times. He plopped down into the front passenger seat of Zuko’s black used Ford Mustang in time to see him slide a Black Sabbath tape into the tape deck. He would get no calm today.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>It was Saturday when Sokka, Suki, Katara, and Toph, all decked out in concert gear, arrived at Caldera. A backstreet club in the Warehouse District, Caldera was a two story live music venue where nights began, and which often emptied out long before last call except for a few regulars and die hard rock fans. The venue was packed as the four of them fought their way to the bar and ordered drinks.</p><p>“Whiskey sour!” Toph yelled over the sound of the opener coming out. </p><p>“White Russian,” Katara said, leaning over the counter. “And a Midori sour for my friend.”</p><p>“Corona,” Sokka said. He had made a promise to himself not to get too blasted tonight. It would be his trial run, so to speak: Zuko was gonna perform, and then they’d hang out afterwards. If Sokka was serious about repairing their friendship then he’d need to make a conscious effort to keep it together.</p><p>“Tequila,” said a voice next to him just a bit too close to his ear. He looked over and met a pair of intense eyes and a wild fringe. He leaned back a little to take in the man’s cocky grin and leather jacket. “Like what you see?”</p><p>“Uh, sorry,” Sokka said, taking his beer and turning away. Something about this dude made his skin crawl. He jumped as the other man put his arm on Sokka’s shoulder.</p><p>“You really gonna start with that sad Corona?” he asked, lightly mocking. Sokka felt his blood get up in response.</p><p>“I’m sorry, who are you?” he asked, teeth gritted.</p><p>“Name’s Jet,” the man said, leaning lazily against the bar. Sokka recognized the challenge in his stance.</p><p>“Well, Jet, why don’t you buzz off?” Sokka said. The opener was yelling something into the crowd, which was still milling about the floor unenthusiastically. </p><p>“Why? This spot’s got the best view,” Jet replied, leering. Sokka grimaced and turned around, and his heart dropped as he saw Zuko standing a few feet away talking with Toph and Katara. Zuko was wearing a white tee shirt with some black marker graphic on the front and black, slim jeans. He wore a leather studded collar, a studded belt, studded arm bands, and knee-high leather boots with straps. His every muscle was either revealed or implied, and Sokka had to physically hold his arm still to keep himself from taking a long drink at the sight. When did he become <em> this </em> conscious of Zuko’s appearance? He was still on his <em> first beer</em>.</p><p>Zuko looked up and gave Sokka a small wave. Sokka grinned back and pushed his way past a pair of biker dudes that had moved up to the bar. They clapped each other on the shoulder as Sokka joined their circle, and Zuko’s hand lingered a bit.</p><p>“Zuko, tell us what your bandmates drink,” Toph yelled over a cheer from the floor. </p><p>“You plan on buying us all stage drinks?” Zuko smirked.</p><p>“Gotta keep those pipes lubricated somehow,” she answered. “You’re not telling me you were planning on drinking water up there.”</p><p>“Come on, Toph,” Zuko protested weakly.</p><p>“Speak up, Sparky, or I’m buying you a cosmo,” Toph threatened.</p><p>“You know you can’t really threaten Zuko with girly drinks,” Katara pointed out, taking a sip of her own.</p><p>“He had his chance to speak,” Toph shrugged. “Now it’s decided.”</p><p>Zuko shook his head.</p><p>“If you order it, I’ll drink it,” he said before pulling Sokka in closer to speak into his ear. Sokka could pretend that it was because of how loud the crowd and the band were, but Zuko’s voice wasn’t pitched quite right for it. “I’d definitely prefer a whisky on the rocks, though.”</p><p>Sokka cocked an eyebrow at him, ignoring the raised eyebrow and smirk Katara was giving them. Soon enough, though, it was time for Zuko to go backstage.</p><p>“Hey, guys!” Suki said, excitedly crashing back into their group.</p><p>“Hey! Where’d you disappear off to?” Katara asked. Suki grinned shyly, but then tugged another girl over by the hand.</p><p>“Well, everyone, I want you to meet Ty Lee!” she said brightly.</p><p>“Hi!” Ty Lee smiled and waved. Sokka nearly dropped his beer. She was <em> incandescently </em> pretty. Suki did a rapid fire introduction of everyone.</p><p>“I think I’ve seen you somewhere,” Katara said.</p><p>“I haven’t,” Toph interjected. “Who is she? She sounds like a doll.”</p><p>“Well, Toph,” Suki said, eyebrow twitching a little as Ty Lee snorted petitely behind her hand. “Ty Lee attends the same dance studio I do.”</p><p>“That’s it!” Katara said. “You posted a dance video with her last week!”</p><p>Katara immediately engaged Ty Lee in discussion, and Sokka took advantage of the distraction to tug Suki over for a whispered conference.</p><p>“<em>This </em> is who you,” Sokka stopped himself from saying ‘left me for,’ and instead pivoted. “Decided to come out to us for?”</p><p>“Is there a problem with that?” Suki asked, tone taking a defensive edge.</p><p>“No,” Sokka said, looking at Ty Lee. He suddenly noticed that he had no strong feelings about Suki dating Ty Lee. “I’m actually impressed with your game. Well done.”</p><p>Suki socked him in the arm. </p><p>“Just because I’m the hottest you’ve pulled don’t assume I can’t do better,” she said, grinning. Sokka laughed, rubbing his arm, and it was nice. He might just be getting over this woman.</p><p>“Oh please,” he shot back. “I only ever date tens.”</p><p>“And she’s an eleven,” Suki replied. Sokka let his expression soften a little as he saw the way she looked at Ty Lee, with adoration and wonder. He polished off his beer, suddenly wistful of the times when she would give him that look. Turning back to the bar, he slid his empty across the counter.</p><p>“Another Corona, and whiskey on the rocks for Agni Kai’s lead guitar,” he said.</p><p>“Make that a round for the band.”</p><p>Sokka turned sharply to his left as Jet slid up to the bar next to him again.</p><p>“What do you want?” he demanded, his mood souring immediately. Jet looked over at him appraisingly, and simply smiled.</p><p>“I like this band coming up,” he said. “Can’t I buy them drinks?”</p><p>“Man, whatever,” Sokka shoved off from the bar and moved to stand closer to the floor. The bar was raised up and partitioned from the floor by a railing, which Sokka leaned against as he waited for Zuko’s band to come out. The girls had all shoved their way as far forward as possible, and normally Sokka would be right there with them but for some reason he wanted to be above the crowd.</p><p>As if Zuko might look out across the sea of faces and see him.</p><p>The lights went down, and an opening cord snarled from the stage. A second later, a spotlight snapped onto the center stage where Zuko stood in front of the mic, readying his next riff.</p><p>“AGNI KAI!” he yelled, and the crowd exploded. The lights came on, and the band roared to life. Sokka let out an exuberant shout, letting himself feel the music and getting lost in the sensation. </p><p>The band played the first three songs of their set before taking a quick break to re-tune. Zuko grabbed up a towel from the floor to dab off the sweat from his forehead, and Sokka was definitely seeing how his shirt was becoming increasingly transparent.</p><p>“How are you doing tonight, Caldera?” Zuko said into the mic, to cheers and screams from the pit. “We’re Agni Kai, back again to burn it all down. If you don’t know us, we’ve been playing in this bar and in the Twin Cities area for about two years now. We started as a punk rock cover band, but we put out our first album last month, and we’re gonna share some of that with you tonight.”</p><p>One of the servers was passing out drinks to the band members.</p><p>“Well! Looks like our fans love us,” Zuko said, taking two whisky rocks from the server with an appreciative nod. His bassist was still fiddling with his instrument, so he continued. “I’m not gonna lie, I was kind of hoping someone would get me a whisky rocks tonight. A lot of times at these things, people who buy us drinks just get us a beer pitcher, or fancy cocktails. All fuel for the fire.”</p><p>He downed the first whisky and checked back in with the bassist, who nodded. He placed the other drink on the stage nearby.</p><p>“But really, two? Don’t try too hard,” he said, and winked in Sokka’s direction. “This next one’s from our album, it’s called One Hundred Years of War.”</p><p>The drummer hit a fast beat, followed by the bassist and rhythm guitar. Zuko took a deep breath and slammed a riff.</p><p>“HONOR! GLORY! HOLLOW! GORY!” Zuko shouted and the crowd went wild. Sokka tried to get into it, but as he looked over he saw Jet in the crowd staring hungrily at the stage. Jet looked over and made eye contact with Sokka, nodding towards Zuko and blowing a kiss and a wink. Sokka could feel his face contorting in anger. <em> What the hell is this dude’s problem? </em> He made Sokka want to punch something--someone, rather--but instead what Sokka did was finish his beer, go back to the bar for a shot of something strong to chase away the bad mood, and then punch his way down into the pit to where the girls were moshing. </p><p>“I’m not taking orders from you anymore,” Zuko growled into the bridge. “Not taking orders from you anymore! Not taking orders from you anymore! Not taking orders from you anymore!”</p><p>He took a breath, voice ragged from the crescendo.</p><p>“I’m gonna speak and you’re gonna listen!” </p><p>The chorus broke, and Sokka lost his mind, surrounded by the wild energy of the crowd. The rest of the show passed in a blur, but at the end, Zuko had finished off his second whisky rocks, the cosmo Toph definitely bought him, and half a pitcher of beer. He had also lost his shirt at some point. His voice had that gravely yet smooth quality that comes after a long night of drinking and shouting, and Sokka wasn’t even going to try to lie to himself that he didn’t think it was sexy as hell when they met up with Zuko by the backstage door and all Zuko said to them was, “Hey.”</p><p>He was wearing a black shirt now with a crimson flame graphic on the front, and Sokka really wanted to trace it with his finger. He controlled himself, barely, as the group walked towards the door.</p><p>“Round two!” Toph was crowing, throwing her arms up and nearly clocking a nearby couple in the chin. Katara steered her slightly out of the way while Ty Lee and Suki were lost in their own little world nearby. Sokka was laughing at Katara and Toph to avoid looking at Zuko, but his laughter died when he saw Jet leaning by the venue door. Zuko also saw him, a look of recognition dawning on him that Sokka did not like.</p><p>“Hey, babe,” Jet said, slinking forward towards Zuko.</p><p>“Hey,” Zuko replied, a little cagily. </p><p>“Nice show. You were on fire up on that stage,” he said, running his finger over the graphic on Zuko’s shirt. Sokka would break that finger for the audacity.</p><p>“I didn’t know you were coming tonight,” Zuko said. “You never said anything.”</p><p>“I wanted to surprise you,” Jet said with a smile. Katara looked over, realizing Sokka and Zuko had stopped. </p><p>“Zuko, who’s this?” she asked, looking between them. </p><p>“This is Jet,” Zuko said curtly. Jet stuck out his hand to Katara.</p><p>“I’m Zuko’s main squeeze,” he said. “Just came by to see the show, and maybe ask if you were free later?”</p><p>Sokka desperately wanted to tell Zuko not to go with Jet, but he held himself back. He didn’t have the right to interfere in Zuko’s sex life. Katara gave him a quizzical look as Zuko focused more fully on Jet. He was absolutely sure he looked ready to kill.</p><p>“We were going out for second round,” Zuko said. “I’m probably not going to be home until later.”</p><p>“Okay, well then let me know,” Jet replied, moving into Zuko’s space to brush some dust off his shirt. “This looks really good on you. I can’t wait to see what it looks like on the floor.”</p><p>This last sentence was stage-whispered into Zuko’s ear, the one that was closer to Sokka, without any obvious effort to prevent him from overhearing. </p><p>“Don’t overplay your hand,” Zuko replied, pushing Jet back with a finger.</p><p>“Alright,” Jet said, putting his hands up and backing away. “I’ll get out of your hair. Text me later.”</p><p>Zuko motioned for the others to leave, and the group filed out of the bar. Sokka threw a look back over his shoulder towards Jet, who mouthed, ‘he’s mine,’ back at him. Sokka glowered, and found it difficult to put up a cheerful facade as they talked about which bar to go to next.</p><p> </p><p>“Sokka!” Toph shouted over the music in the next bar, some classic rock themed dive. “Do shots with me!”</p><p>“What?” Sokka leaned in, half deaf from the noise and very distracted.</p><p>“Let’s do shots!” Toph repeated, louder. Sokka stuck a finger in his ear until the ringing stopped.</p><p>“No thanks, I’m good,” he answered.</p><p>“Don’t be dumb, you look like you could use them,” she replied and ordered a round. Sokka blinked at her but took the shot that she slid in his direction anyway. “Bottoms up, snoozles!” </p><p>They both threw back, throats burning, and slammed their glasses down on the bar. Sokka felt the fire spread through him to the tips of his fingers, coloring his cheeks and filling him with elation, anchored by a dark patch of rapidly thawing anger.</p><p>“One more round,” he said, flagging down the bartender. Toph beat the bar top with her fists.</p><p>“Hell yeah!” she said.</p><p>Three shots later, and Katara had joined them by this point and was struggling to prop Toph up, Sokka was counting the light fixtures behind the bar--the numbers kept changing--so he didn’t notice Zuko approaching until he slid in next to him.</p><p>“What’s going on here?” he asked.</p><p>“Sparky!” Toph yelled, righting herself and causing Katara to slip. “We’re doing shots! Join us!”</p><p>“Sure,” he replied, and was it Sokka’s imagination or had he pressed himself entirely against Sokka’s side? The bar was crowded, but not <em> that </em> crowded. Sokka’s brain flatlined. “What are we drinking?”</p><p>“Blow jobs,” Toph grinned, and a second later the bartender slid four shots across to them. Sokka stared down at it, and then for the first time looked over at Zuko. Zuko gripped his glass loosely, his muscular arm resting casually on the bar. He smiled at Sokka and raised the glass up invitingly. Sokka was finding it frustratingly difficult to look away from his dimples.</p><p>“Couple shots!” Toph said at that moment, wrapping up Katara’s arm in hers. Katara’s shock was only slightly eclipsed by whatever competitive spirit animated her to keep up with Toph, and the two of them threw back to the hoots and hollers of the bar’s patrons. Sokka and Zuko exchanged looks.</p><p>“Come on, boys!” Toph said, slapping Sokka’s arm.</p><p>“Yeah, drink up!” Katara added over her shoulder. Sokka gulped and turned to Zuko, checking for a nonverbal confirmation to proceed. Zuko nodded, a heated intensity entering his gaze at the girls’ challenge, and then snaked his arm around Sokka’s. They threw back, the shot milky and sweet as it slid down Sokka’s throat, an equal number of screams and whoops filling the background. Sokka put the glass down on the bar, their arms still entangled, and caught Zuko’s eye. Zuko had a bit of whipped cream on his lip, and Sokka’s mind immediately conjured up a filthy collage of images of Zuko on his knees. Without breaking eye contact, Zuko <em> the absolute bastard </em> licked his lips, Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed the cream, and smirked, eyes hooded. Sokka was about to lose it.</p><p>But then, he thought of Jet’s face mouthing the words ‘he’s mine’, and the collage of Zuko turned into a collage of Zuko and Jet. He suddenly felt like he had just swallowed ash, and untangled their arms. Zuko raised an eyebrow, and then Sokka patted him on the shoulder and said to the bartender, “Hey, let’s get a couple pints for me and my friend.”</p><p>Sokka didn’t look in Zuko’s direction, and didn’t see his crestfallen expression at the word ‘friend’. He was too busy trying to hold down his own frustrated screams.</p><p> </p><p>Two or so hours later, Sokka sulked on a bench near the light rail station, the trains having stopped running already. Toph was flirting hardcore with a woman in skimpy clubbing clothes while Katara, Ty Lee, and Suki chatted nearby. Sokka’s vision was unfocused, the streetlamps bursts of fluorescent white against the black night ceiling. Zuko stood nearby, cigarette in one hand, checking his phone in the other. Sokka rolled his head over to stare at him, and the ugly, sticky morass in his belly uncurled. </p><p>“You okay?” Zuko asked, looking down at him.</p><p>“Just drunk,” Sokka said, rubbing his eyes to chase away the fuzziness. His blossoming headache reduced slightly, which gave him the room to sit up a little. He turned his body to face Zuko, arm thrown over the back of the bench so he could balance his head on his hand. “So, you come here often?”</p><p>Zuko snorted and shook his head at him, looking back down at his phone.</p><p>“Hey,” Sokka asked, unable to stop himself. Zuko looked up curiously. “Are you dating that Jet guy?”</p><p>“No, not really,” Zuko replied.</p><p>“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sokka sat up a little, shifting his arm to grip the bench back for balance. </p><p>“It means we’re not dating,” Zuko said. Sokka frowned a little.</p><p>“But like, you hook up with him, right?” </p><p>“Sometimes,” Zuko admitted. Sokka clicked his tongue and flopped back down.</p><p>“Ugh, why? He’s a dickhead,” he groused.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s why I’m not dating him,” Zuko said, taking a final drag on his cigarette. He tossed the butt to the sidewalk and scuffed it with his boot.</p><p>“Shouldn’t even be sleeping with that creep,” Sokka muttered. Zuko gave him a hard look, but didn’t reply. He went back to his phone, and Sokka blurted out, “Don’t meet up with him tonight.”</p><p>“Why not?” Zuko challenged.</p><p>“Because!” Sokka started, pushing himself up to stand. He overcompensated slightly, but on regaining his balance he pointed a finger at Zuko’s shirt. “I don’t like it. Him. I don’t like him. Walking up to you and putting his hands all over you like that. Who does he think he is?”</p><p>“And what business is it of yours who I allow to do that?” Zuko asked, icy cold. Sokka heard the tone, and realized for the first time he might be treading in dangerous waters. He stomped down his instinctive response.</p><p>“I’m...I…” he fumbled instead, trying to come up with an acceptable answer. Zuko waited for a moment before answering for him.</p><p>“You’re...just a friend,” Zuko said, and then he called over to the girls. “Hey, Katara, Suki! I’m gonna uber back, okay?”</p><p>“Are you sure? We’re probably going to head to Boomie’s after this,” Katara said.</p><p>“Yeah,” he replied, ignoring Sokka’s crestfallen look, his confused devastation. “Text later.”</p><p>“Okay, drive safe, Zuko,” Katara said, turning back to her conversation. Zuko walked away from the light rail station towards the main road.</p><p>“Zuko, wait!” Sokka said, chasing after. “Where are you going?”</p><p>“What do you want from me, Sokka?” Zuko demanded, turning around once Sokka caught up. “Hm? You want to be my friend? Because my friends are back there not telling me where I can go or who I can fuck.”</p><p>“Woah, that’s not what I--,” Sokka began, but Zuko cut him off.</p><p>“Or, do you want to be more than friends? Because this jealous, possessive act isn’t exactly doing it for me.”</p><p>That shut Sokka up. Zuko’s chest heaved, and he rubbed his forehead.</p><p>“This is what I get for getting my hopes up,” he muttered to himself, and Sokka’s confusion deepened.</p><p>“Your what now?” he asked. Zuko sighed.</p><p>“Look,” he said, an uber pulling up behind him. He looked simultaneously tired, frustrated, and vulnerable. “I want to believe you when you tell me you think of me as your friend just as much as I want to believe that the signals I’m getting from you mean you like me as more than that. I can’t believe both. Pick one. Please, Sokka.”</p><p>The uber driver leaned over and reminded them both she was there. Zuko wiped his right eye, just a quick swipe of his thumb, and then opened the uber door.</p><p>“Zuko,” Sokka said, heart aching.</p><p>“See you later, Sokka,” he said, slamming the door shut. The uber drove off, leaving Sokka standing there beneath a streetlamp, alone among the crowds of revelers.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Somebody help him.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Make A Move</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sokka walked along the Mississippi, hand shoved in his pockets, shivering a little in the 4 a.m. mist. After being left on the curb, he’d wandered off on his own, texting Katara that he was feeling pretty bad and was also going to go home. Certainly he felt bad, but he’d had the sense to stop by a 24 hour convenience store for some gatorade and a hot dog, which satisfied his late night cravings and kept the headache at bay. </p><p>The sidewalk was fifteen feet over a riverside bike path, well-lit but empty down a steep, grassy embankment. The river water was dark and sluggish. Sokka kicked a pebble into the gutter and sighed. He really should’ve brought a jacket, he was going to be sick as a dog tomorrow, but that was the last thing on his mind.</p><p>Zuko was right: Sokka couldn’t have it both ways. He couldn’t keep flirting without making himself clearer, not after everything from the past week. He sighed again, and checked his phone. There were, of course, the dozens of insta posts of the night’s shenanigans. Texts to the group chat from Toph, who apparently decided to olly out with a different chick at Boomie’s. Sokka sighed, deeper than ever before, at the prospect that, with the exception of his sister, all his friends were probably getting laid tonight, and honestly he only excluded Katara because he didn’t like thinking about the details of her sex life. He wouldn’t be surprised to learn she’d pulled someone from the last bar for a one nighter, which meant that Sokka was the only one not having any fun.</p><p>
  <em> Pick one. Please, Sokka. </em>
</p><p>The mild anguish in Zuko’s tone struck Sokka hard. He was now oh for two when it came to Zuko, and the thought that the next strike might be all the chance he got to even keep him as a friend was terrifying. If Zuko couldn’t believe Sokka was serious, then he was well within his rights to walk away.</p><p>The ball was back in Sokka’s court. </p><p>“I can’t do this,” he said to himself, dragging both hands through his hair, which came undone from its normal wolf tail. “I can’t do this by myself.”</p><p>He checked his phone again. If there was someone he could talk to about this, he’d have a better idea what to do. Someone with a fresh perspective, who he could count on to give him good advice.</p><p>Aang was offline. Sokka squeezed his phone and shouted into the night.</p><p>“AANG! WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU?”</p><p>He shoved his phone back in his pocket. Aang would be back in the country in a few days, and Sokka would be there to meet him.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Sokka stood by the baggage claims at MSP, hands shoved into the pockets of a blue hoodie. He eyed the crowds with a keen eye, scanning faces. The air was crisp outside, threatening snow but unsure how much to commit, and many of the people he saw were already bundling up in scarves and hats. That made it easy for him to spy the bald head with the blue arrow tattoo through the wool and nylons. </p><p>“Aang!” he yelled, waving his hands. Aang looked up, tanned and grinning from enormous ear to enormous ear. Sokka smiled affectionately as he noted that Aang was still dressed for Bali: board shorts, oversized T shirt, and flip flops. <em> Classic </em>.</p><p>“Sokka!” Aang yelled, dashing forward through the crowd, his overstuffed backpack lurching precariously. He launched himself into Sokka for a mighty bro-hug tackle, forcing Sokka to spin in order to remain upright. The indignity was immaterial, because Aang was already letting go and running back to the carousel. “Wait, I forgot my bag.”</p><p>“Goober,” Sokka said, following after and rubbing his back where the force of Aang had cracked it loudly. </p><p> </p><p>Thirty minutes later, after a far too fast taxi ride, they had dropped Aang’s bags on the floor of his apartment and broken out the meditation pillows. Aang had spent ten minutes at the airport digging through his stuff for more sensible clothes, and now wore a somewhat grungy denim jacket, a big, thick red scarf that smelled strongly of incense, and a loose wool beanie. </p><p>“So, Sokka,” he said, clapping his hands together in front of his face and adopting a sly expression. “What is the matter on which you require my sagely advice?”</p><p><em> Oh fuck</em>. Sokka wasn’t quite ready, feeling the sweat start to pool under his shirt collar. He laughed awkwardly.</p><p>“Ha, advice? Well, it’s not a big deal, really,” he tried to wave it off. He had spent four days dutifully checking into the group chat but otherwise not going out of his way to interact with Zuko. He <em> had </em> been spamming Aang with cries for help, but hadn’t as of yet explained the situation fully.</p><p>“No backing out of it now, Sokka!” Aang said, setting his hands on his knees. Sokka took a deep breath, and spilled it all out in one go.</p><p>“SoIdiscoveredZukohadacrushonmeandwhenSukicameoutIsortofkissedhimabunchandflirtedbutthenIjerkedhimaroundandmadeitworselastweekendathisconcertandnowIdon’tknowwhattodo.”</p><p>Aang blinked and nodded.</p><p>“Aha!” he said. “I thought something like this might have happened.”</p><p>“You what,” Sokka said, nonplussed.</p><p>“Well, Katara said you were taking things pretty hard,” he said, counting things on his fingers. “Suki said she was worried about how distant you seemed to be, even though you’d told her you were fine. Zuko was bothered by something when I called him yesterday, which was weird because all the pictures from that night looked pretty fun, but he wouldn’t tell me what happened. And then Toph was telling me about how you basically bought him drinks all night.”</p><p>Sokka whistled.</p><p>“So, on top of you badgering me all week for advice,” Aang said. “I concluded that something happened between the two of you. And I was right!”</p><p>“Aang, I know we call you an airhead a lot, but dang,” Sokka said. “You weren’t even in the country.”</p><p>“Thank you, I try,” Aang said with a seated bow.</p><p>“So what do you think I should do?” Sokka asked, rubbing his neck nervously and looking down at the floor between them.</p><p>“I’unno,” Aang shrugged.</p><p>“What!? You were supposed to help me come up with a plan!” Sokka protested.</p><p>“Have you tried asking him out?” Aang asked, stretching his arms behind his back. </p><p>“I. Uh,” Sokka fumbled. That was a really obvious answer, but one that until just that moment had seemed entirely out of the question. But was it actually? Zuko had wanted clarity after all, and Sokka didn’t think he could get much clearer than that. There was a hitch, of course. “I mean, I don’t even know if I actually want to date him, though?” he said, ignoring the memories of their kiss, his jealousy, the mental reel of sexual fantasy.</p><p>“Okay,” Aang laughed, bending left to stretch in that direction. “That sounds super convincing.”</p><p>“Well!” Sokka said. “It’s not that simple.”</p><p>“Why?” Aang replied, stretching right.</p><p>“Because it’s not!”</p><p>“Right,” Aang said, twisting his back both ways. “Well, then I don’t know what to tell you, Sokka.”</p><p>“You really think I should ask him out?” Sokka asked.</p><p>“It’s obvious you like him,” Aang said. He stretched out his right leg and bent over to grab his toes.</p><p>“How? I barely told you anything,” Sokka said.</p><p>“All your insta photos with other people since the coming out party have included Zuko,” Aang pointed out, straightening up and stretching out his left leg. “Most of them looked pretty cute, too. I think he also likes you, although it’s hard to tell with him. Sifu Hotman is as mysterious as he is dark and brooding.”</p><p>Sokka was stunned speechless once again by Aang’s perspicacity. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his insta. He didn’t believe for a second that he had been <em> that </em>obvious, but the more he scrolled the more he had to concede the point: here was a shot of him and Zuko outside the 7-Eleven, heads together and smiling; here was a shot of Zuko and Sokka posing like action heroes on a movie poster, the 7-Eleven in the background; further down, here was a shot from Denny’s, with Zuko feeding Sokka bacon with an annoyed but fond look on his face; here was a group shot from the night of the concert, Zuko’s arm around Sokka’s shoulder, Sokka’s hand around Zuko’s waist; here was a shot Sokka had taken of Zuko at the bar, captioned ‘punk rock aesthetic’. </p><p>“I...am really slow,” Sokka said, his heart quite swollen from feeling. </p><p>“A realization slowly made is wiser from the journey,” Aang kaoned, leaning left to touch his toes. “You should call him.”</p><p>“Right now?” Sokka asked, alarmed.</p><p>“Yes,” Aang said. “Right now! Do it before everyone gets here later for the welcome back bash.”</p><p>“Can’t I just wait and ask him then?” Sokka knew he was bargaining. There was no saying no to Aang when he was insistent. It was an impossible task.</p><p>“Nope,” Aang replied. “It’s my party, and you’re not gonna spend it drinking your feelings and being awkward around one of my other best friends.”</p><p>“I hate you sometimes,” Sokka groused, but retrieved his phone and opened up his contacts list. Aang merely hummed to himself and folded himself into a pretzel. Sokka almost forgot what he was doing, fascinated at how comfortable Aang looked in that position. He shook himself and hit dial before he could talk himself out of it.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Zuko was in the shower when his phone began to buzz. Jet, lounging on the bed after a quick but vigorous tumble, reached over to check it. He smirked.</p><p>“Call from Sokka,” he said. “Be a shame to miss that.”</p><p>He silenced the phone and let the call drop. Then he deleted it from the call history. He kept an eye on the phone for a bit longer in case Sokka called again or messaged, and he was rewarded with a text.</p><p> </p><p>Sokka: hey when you get this can you call me back?</p><p> </p><p>Jet read the text and then deleted it. Nothing stings worse than being left on read. He switched the sound back on when Zuko turned the water off and by the time he emerged Jet had flipped over on his stomach and queued up for Battleground. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, get your clothes on and leave,” Zuko said brusquely. </p><p>“Aw, babe, don’t be like that,” Jet wheedled, making no moves to move.</p><p>“I’m going to my friend’s party tonight and you’re not bumming around my house unsupervised,” Zuko said. “Move.”</p><p>“Fine,” Jet replied, smoothly rolling to his feet. He slid up behind Zuko and ran a hand down his abs and under the towel, which dropped obligingly. Zuko stopped and made an aroused but irritated noise. “One for the road?”</p><p>“No,” Zuko said, but Jet began to grind into him from behind.</p><p>“Come on, five minutes,” Jet purred, gently biting his shoulder. He could feel Zuko hardening in his hands and gave a little squeeze to help him along. “You don’t even have to do anything, just stand here and take it.”</p><p>“Fine,” Zuko relented. “You have five minutes. Starting now.”</p><p>Jet didn’t waste a single second.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>After being left on read, Sokka nearly went home to drink and cry about missed opportunities. Aang had persuaded him to calm down, and helped him devise his foolproof plan.</p><p>“And you’re sure this will work?” Sokka asked dubiously, listening to the more outlandish details.</p><p>“Trust me,” Aang said, messaging the group chat.</p><p> </p><p>Aang: Change of plans, everyone!</p><p>Aang: Instead of giving Toph another opportunity to trash my apartment, why don’t we go out on the town? I’ve been surrounded by nothing but beaches, ocean, and lush green jungle for so long, I’ve forgotten what city life is like.</p><p>Suki: Yeah, yeah, rub it in</p><p>Katara: What were you thinking?</p><p>Aang: Well, Sokka was telling me about this great restaurant by the river that I want to check out, and there’s a park nearby where we can hang out afterwards!</p><p>Toph: Aren’t you a vegetarian? Why are you getting food recommendations from Sokka?</p><p>Sokka: Hey! I know where to get good plants!</p><p>Katara: So you’re a gardener now as well as a meat eater.</p><p>Sokka: I did not come here to be roasted</p><p>Toph: BUT IT’S HAPPENING</p><p>Aang: lol anyway, let’s meet up here!</p><p>==Aang has pinned a location to the chat==</p><p>Katara: Well okay then. See you later, Aang!</p><p>Suki: Oh, I know this place! Their braised portobello is amazing</p><p>Toph: What’s a girl gotta do to get some roast beef around here</p><p>Suki: They have a meat menu too, Toph</p><p>Toph: Oh Suki, I knew you’d save me!</p><p>Aang: Sokka and I will be on our way soon. Any word from Zuko?</p><p>Katara: Not since yesterday</p><p>Aang: ZUKOOOOOOOO</p><p>Zuko: What.</p><p>Aang: lol wow check your phone more</p><p>Zuko: I’ll take that into consideration.</p><p>Zuko: I also might be a few minutes late.</p><p>Aang: Aw, why? I miss my favorite brooding hotman!</p><p>Zuko: That location’s a little far for me to go. I’ll text you when I’m close</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that’s not ideal,” Aang said, reading over the thread with a slight frown. “You’ll just have to get him alone after dinner maybe. Or you could follow him into the bathroom?”</p><p>“Aang, I don’t think the bathroom is the best place to ask out anyone, especially Zuko,” Sokka replied, pinching his nose a little. Yeah, <em> this </em> was why they called Aang an airhead. All the intuition of the ages swirling around in his skull, not a single ounce of common sense.</p><p>“Well, they do it a lot in K-dramas,” Aang shrugged his coat on. He had swapped out his board shorts for loose fitting trousers he must have bought while abroad. His whole look was a fascinating blend of styles that was still all Aang.</p><p>“Was that all they had to watch in Bali?” Sokka asked, tugging his beanie down over his wolf tail. It would stop him from fiddling with his hair out of nerves.</p><p>“Pretty much. Now let’s go!”</p><p> </p><p>They met Toph and Suki at the restaurant first. It was a quaint quasi-modernist structure with a front garden tucked between someone’s house and a bike rental shop. Across the street was a park, and then the river. The whole neighborhood had a hushed, forested atmosphere that was almost magical.</p><p>“TOPH!” Aang yelled as soon as he saw her.</p><p>“GET OVER HERE AND HUG ME, TWINKLE TOES!” Toph bellowed back.</p><p>Aang tried to bowl her over, but she hoisted him up by the hips instead so he threw a pose. Sokka snickered and snapped a pic. Up the street he saw Katara walking towards them from a nearby bus stop and waved to her.</p><p>“Hey! Am I late?” she called, jogging a little to join up with them.</p><p>“Katara!” Aang swept her into a hug as well, squeezing her and lifting her into a fun twirl.</p><p>“Woah! Aang!” she laughed. “Put me down!”</p><p>“Should we wait for Zuko?” Sokka asked, hoping to hide the slight shaking in his voice. He rocked back and forth on his heels out of sheer nerves. He desperately didn’t want to fuck it up tonight.</p><p>“Nope!” Toph said. “I’m hungry. Sparky can text us his order if he wants to get it when he arrives.”</p><p>“I’m actually pretty hungry, too,” Suki said. “Dance class was hard today.”</p><p>“Oh yeah! You said you were working on new choreography, right?” Aang asked excitedly. “Tell me about it!”</p><p>They went inside to place their orders. Aang’s mouth ran a mile a minute, which allowed Sokka the space to sit back a little and watch his friends, smiling. It was seriously good to have them all back, even if Zuko was late. Speaking of which, Sokka felt his phone buzz, and checked the group chat.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko: I’m almost there.</p><p>Sokka: What do you want to eat? Tell us your order and we can place it for you</p><p>Zuko: Can I see a pic of the menu?</p><p>==Sokka sent a photo to Team Avatar==</p><p>Zuko: I’ll have the grilled salmon and a cider.</p><p>Sokka: Not drinking much tonight?</p><p>Zuko: I hadn’t planned on it. You shouldn’t either.</p><p> </p><p>Sokka refrained from taking umbrage in the group chat, instead flagging the server down to place Zuko’s order. He flipped his phone back open and stared hard at the group chat. He wanted to say more, but Zuko had left him on read, which seemed to be answer enough that he wasn’t willing to talk to Sokka just yet. The server came back a moment later with their drink orders, and Sokka looked at the IPA he’d ordered, frowning.</p><p>“Actually, can I get sprite instead?” Sokka said to the server.</p><p>“Not drinking, Sokka?” Katara asked.</p><p>“I’m not really feeling it right now,” he said with a shrug.</p><p>“Well, I’ll take it, then,” Toph said, making grasping hands in Sokka’s general direction.</p><p>“Sure, Toph,” Sokka replied, passing the glass over. The server returned with the sprite just as Zuko walked in. Sokka turned towards the restaurant door and immediately drank half of his glass.</p><p>Zuko had tied his hair up in a loose topknot, leaving the back hanging down. He wore a black leather jacket against the fall weather over a burgundy V-neck shirt that showed just a hint of collarbone. His slim black jeans and boots cut his legs like marble. Sokka knew he was gaping and quickly averted his gaze. Fortunately, Aang was there to draw the spotlight away from him.</p><p>“Sifu!” Aang shot up and dashed over to Zuko. He stopped just short and bowed deeply, a gesture Zuko returned on sufferance.</p><p>“Pupil,” Zuko answered, and then broke into a grin, reaching over to ruffle Aang’s nonexistent hair. “You got tan.”</p><p>“Yep! All that Bali sunshine,” Aang said brightly, looking up at Zuko. “You grew your hair out again!” </p><p>“Is it too long?” Zuko immediately fretted. “I was thinking of cutting it.”</p><p>“Well, I think it’s very handsome. And I know <em> some people </em> here agree,” Aang said, waggling his eyebrows. Sokka nearly choked on the remainder of his drink. Zuko glanced over at him, briefly.</p><p>“I think I’ll take your word for it,” he said. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”</p><p>“Hm? What?” Aang asked, confused. Zuko sighed and then slowly opened his arms. Aang’s face lit up like the sun on solstice, and he winded Zuko with the force of his hug.</p><p>“Oof!” Zuko said, patting Aang on the back as the other man nuzzled his jacket. He smiled down and said, “Welcome back, Aang.”</p><p>“D’aww!” Sokka and Katara both said in unison. Zuko glared daggers at them both.</p><p>“Sokka, is this a dream? Did I just witness Zuko offer a hug to a real, living human?” Katara asked with a shit-eating grin on her face.</p><p>“He cares! He really cares!” Sokka said, mock wiping a tear from his eye.</p><p>“What, I can’t hug my best friend?” Zuko griped as he sat down. To Sokka’s dismay, he pulled his chair up to the end of the table next to himself. Their knees bumped, and Sokka unconsciously moved away with a mumbled, ‘sorry,’ but the look of quietly restrained sadness that crossed Zuko’s face made him immediately regret everything. </p><p>It was a passing thing, but from that moment Zuko barely engaged Sokka at all over the course of the meal. He had animated discussions with Aang about the band and Bali, and he bantered with Katara and Toph over appetizers. He and Suki got into a serious conversation about a potential collaboration with her studio. Sokka, meanwhile, could barely get in a word edgewise.</p><p>He finished his entree quickly and excused himself to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face, slapping his cheeks a few times and then examining his dripping reflection in the mirror.</p><p>“This is fine,” he muttered. “I just need to get him alone later. Not a big deal. He is just <em> 100% convinced </em> that you’re already friendzoning him.”</p><p>He grabbed some paper towels and wiped down his face, growling in frustration. This was already a disaster. He needed a new plan; Aang’s wasn’t going to work. When he left the bathroom, the table was clear of plates but everyone had fresh drinks in front of them. He saw Zuko quickly look away, his arms folded in front of him, and that...hurt. But Sokka knew how to proceed.</p><p>“Hey, Zuko,” he said, walking up and tapping Zuko on the shoulder. Zuko looked up at him quizzically. “Can I borrow your cigs?”</p><p>“I didn’t know you smoked,” Zuko said, automatically reaching for his pack, which also contained his lighter.</p><p>“You never asked,” Sokka said with a shrug, wincing at his own tone, but ploughing ahead. “I was told I shouldn’t drink tonight, so I thought I’d pick up a new habit.”</p><p>“Sure,” Zuko said, clearly flummoxed. Sokka took the cigarette pack from him and turned to Aang.</p><p>“I’ll be back in a bit,” he said. “Text me when it’s time to pay.”</p><p>“Sure thing!” Aang said, eyeing both Sokka and Zuko with understanding and mischief. Sokka groaned internally and turned to leave, passing behind Zuko as he went.</p><p>“See you outside,” he said, trailing a finger along Zuko’s shoulders. He didn’t turn around, focusing on not tripping, not bumping into anything, putting the correct hand towards the door to open it, not letting it slam behind him as he stepped outside the restaurant. He could only hope that Aang’s intuition would correctly interpret the cues Sokka had been sending him.</p><p>“Okay,” he said to himself. “Now let’s pick the venue.”</p><p>He walked out to the sidewalk and lit up a cigarette, taking a shallow breath to get  a feel for the smoke. It burned, and he coughed, but with some experimental huffs he figured out how to moderate the intake to get that good, quick rush without scouring his throat. He crossed the street to the park, which had a trail map with bike paths and points of interest. He found a landing by the river not too far away, and decided that would be the spot. Taking another puff on the cigarette, he set out towards it. His phone pinged as he went.</p><p> </p><p>Aang: hey, we’re gonna pay soon and then pick up some beers. I told them I’d text you to find us a spot.</p><p>Sokka: Perfect. Remind me to hug you later</p><p>Aang: I got you, boo</p><p> </p><p>Aang then texted Sokka his part of the check, the amount of which Sokka venmoed over to him. Sokka took another puff. Cigarettes were really starting to grow on him. The image of sharing one with Zuko--he’d take a puff, pass it to Zuko, who’d set his lips to the filter and take a long, full drag, and then open his mouth and hold the smoke there for Sokka to close the gap and draw out of him with a sensuous kiss--sent shivers down his spine. He sent a text to Zuko.</p><p> </p><p>Sokka: hey, I need your help with something while the others get drinks.</p><p>Zuko: Okay. Where are you?</p><p>==Sokka has pinned a location to the chat!==</p><p>Zuko: Be there soon.</p><p>Zuko: Also, give me back my cigs.</p><p> </p><p>The landing was a concrete platform built into the embankment of the Mississippi with space nearby for boats to be drawn up. A guard railing had been installed, probably to prevent drunken idiots from falling in, and connected to a wooden walking path stroke dock that ran along the shore and ended at a forested path, the kind down which lurked either portals to the realm of the fae or axe murderers. To the west, Sokka could see the towers of downtown Minneapolis lit up against the sunset soaring over distant trees and rooftops. The sky reflected orange fire on the lapping waves of the river. It was honestly breathtaking. </p><p>Footsteps. Sokka turned from where he was leaning on the railing as Zuko emerged from the park, blinking a little. He looked around as if trying to find a picnic table that needed dragging over or something. </p><p>“Hey,” he said.</p><p>“Hi,” Sokka replied, courage welling up in him as he looked at Zuko, this man who had him half out of his mind for the better part of a month.</p><p>“What did you need help with?” Zuko asked.</p><p>“I needed your help clearing up some things,” Sokka said, taking a final draw on his cigarette. He dropped it to the landing and scuffed it with his shoe. Zuko swallowed, eyes a little dilated as he watched Sokka walk forward, stopping just short of him.</p><p>“That’s good,” Zuko said a little uncertainly. “I was, uh. Earlier, when we, uh. You. What happened at dinner.”</p><p>Sokka put a finger up to Zuko’s lips, and he stopped babbling. Sokka found himself chuckling. It felt <em> so good </em> seeing Zuko just as nervous as he was. They were bonding. It was great.</p><p>“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” Sokka said. “And I haven’t been fair to either of us lately. Especially to you. You were right: I needed to make a decision. I can’t have it both ways. When it comes to me and you, you’ve made it very clear that it’s all or nothing: friends or more than friends.”</p><p>Zuko licked his lips as Sokka paused for breath (and effect, if he was being honest with himself).</p><p>“So, what did you decide?” Zuko asked. His expression--head tilted slightly down, eyes looking up to Sokka’s--was trying very, very hard to be neutral or maybe a little curious, and failing.</p><p>“Hey, let me do this properly, alright?” Sokka chided him, reaching forward to take both of his hands. Zuko’s fingers were calloused from playing, but his palms were soft and pliant. Sokka gave his hands a light squeeze, looking up into Zuko’s golden eyes, shining like embers in the evening light. “Zuko, I like you, a lot. You’ve been in my mind constantly for weeks, and all my thoughts lately are of us together. So, what I’m asking is--”</p><p>“Yes,” Zuko said, swiftly and firmly.</p><p>“I didn’t even finish, how do you know what I was gonna ask?” Sokka said. Zuko squeezed his hands, the corner of his mouth twitching.</p><p>“I think I can guess,” Zuko said, looking down at their hands, and then nodding at the view. “The context is pretty obvious.”</p><p>“Can I finish, at least?” Sokka huffed.</p><p>“Sure, but then I’m going to kiss you,” Zuko warned.</p><p>“What if I was going to ask if you wanted to get ice cream, hm?” Sokka challenged.</p><p>“That sounds like a date,” Zuko said, smiling.</p><p>“Fine! You got me,” Sokka said, also grinning, his chest feeling buoyant and warm. “Zuko, I want to date you. Will you be my boyfriend?”</p><p>“Didn’t I already say?” Zuko quipped, stepping closer to Sokka but not quite closing the distance. </p><p>“Can’t remember,” Sokka said, eyes hooded slightly in anticipation.</p><p>“Fine. I will,” Zuko answered. He leaned in and placed his lips gently against Sokka’s, who pressed forward, sealing their lips together. Sokka felt sparks, deepening the kiss very lightly. Zuko let out a shuddering breath through his nose, grinning. They broke apart. Sokka let out a laugh, relief flooding him.</p><p>“Oh thank the spirits, I was so nervous!” he said.</p><p>“I think that makes two of us,” Zuko replied.</p><p>“Well, when I called you before and you left me on read,” Sokka said, letting go of Zuko’s hand to scratch the back of his neck. “I was worried you’d already written me off.”</p><p>“When did you call me?” Zuko asked, suddenly perplexed.</p><p>“Today? Before dinner?” Sokka said. “And then I messaged you to call me back and you never replied.”</p><p>A dark look suddenly crossed Zuko’s face.</p><p>“I never got that call,” he said, pulling out his phone. “I thought you were just ignoring me, and that that was your decision. Are you sure you called today?”</p><p>“Yeah, Aang made me do it,” Sokka said. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”</p><p>“Unsurprising,” Zuko said, frowning at his phone. “I don’t see your call, or your message.”</p><p>“What?” Sokka asked, pulling out his own phone. “Here, look.”</p><p>Zuko took Sokka’s phone in one hand and his own in the other, and compared them. His expression became briefly thunderous.</p><p>“Uh, what’s going on?” Sokka asked. Zuko huffed, and then handed Sokka his phone back.</p><p>“Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Zuko answered.</p><p>“I’m concerned,” Sokka said, but then Zuko wrapped an arm around Sokka’s waist and pulled him in close. “Or, I guess I’m not! Look at that.”</p><p>Zuko leaned in and pecked Sokka on the lips, but Sokka grabbed the back of Zuko’s neck with his free hand and held him there. He was a man starved, and the only thing that could satisfy him was the taste of Zuko on his tongue. </p><p>The sound of a shutter click broke the moment. They both looked over to see Aang, Katara, and Suki standing there giving them looks of adoration, Aang holding up his phone to take the shot. Toph stood nearby with a smirk on her face and a six pack of beer in each hand.</p><p>“So, uh,” Sokka said. “How much of that were you there for?”</p><p>“Just the juicy bits,” Toph said. “So are you guys dating now, or what?”</p><p>Zuko and Sokka exchanged looks, and then Zuko started laughing. Sokka joined him. It was pretty silly, after all.</p><p>“Yes, we’re dating,” Sokka confirmed. Suki gave him the most bisexual double thumbs up he had ever seen. He shot finger guns at her from around Zuko, since neither had made any moves to part.</p><p>The gang all gathered on the landing and broke into the beer, laughing and celebrating both the return of their friend and the start of a new relationship. Sokka sighed, leaning into Zuko when they found themselves, now quite tipsy, gathered around a makeshift phone lamp campfire exchanging ghost stories. He reached a hand over, tangling his fingers in Zuko’s, and heaved a contented sigh. For tonight, everything was right with the world.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Explicit content in the next chapter. I'm not bumping up the rating. You've been warned.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Television Romance [Explicit]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: this chapter contains graphic descriptions of sex, violence, frank discussions of emotion, and rampant idiocy. Viewer discretion is advised.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Aang, everything is not right, it’s all wrong, this is going to be a disaster.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, calm down,” Aang said. They were at Sokka’s place, Aang lounging on his futon while Sokka paced back and forth across the living room carpet. He felt like he was about to snap in two with how wound up he was. Spread across the other furniture pieces in his living room were various shirts and pants in different styles and color combinations. Sokka thought choosing one would be a simple task--he rarely thought particularly hard about what he wore on a day to day basis--but </span>
  <em>
    <span>for some reason that was unknown to him</span>
  </em>
  <span> the decision of what to wear was slaying him. He was slain. Bury him at sea for the fish to pick at his wretched bones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can I be calm about this!?” Sokka wailed, picking up a royal blue button up and a red long sleeve t-shirt and comparing them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unacceptable.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I can guarantee you that Zuko’s just as nervous as you are,” Aang said, scrolling through a message thread. “He’s been asking me to sneak a pic of what you’re wearing tonight so he can match it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He has?” Sokka asked, clutching a grey sleeveless hoodie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm,” Aang replied through smiling lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should I try to match him? What is he wearing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, you haven’t even had your first date yet,” Aang rolled his eyes. “Couple outfits are at least third or fourth date territory.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know this? Were you secretly dating someone in Bali?” Sokka demanded, rumpling the hoodie as he spoke. Aang cocked his head at Sokka and gave him an amused but concerned look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, you know what?” he said, standing up. “This isn’t working. Go to your room, Sokka, and let me pick you something. Work on what you’ll say to him when you meet up later, and maybe fix  your hair.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh fuck is there something wrong with my hair</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Sokka cried, but Aang was already pushing him out of the living room and into his bedroom. The door was slammed on him, so he fretted his way past his bed to his desk to fiddle with a brush and calculate on paper the optimal amount of cologne he should wear. While he worked, Aang poked his head back in and threw a charcoal black V neck sweater, blue undershirt, black skinny jeans with stressed knees, and a pair of black ankle socks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here, put these on,” Aang said before going over to Sokka’s dresser and messing in the top drawer. “And this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang withdrew a simple gold chain necklace from a box of accessories Sokka kept next to his socks and underpants. Sokka started getting changed while Aang rummaged around in his closet, pulling out a chunky but comfortable blue overcoat and adding it to the pile. Sokka looked at it all dubiously, but when he was finished and had fixed his hair (again), he kind of liked the overall effect in the mirror. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See? Look how handsome you are,” Aang said with a grin. “Zuko’s definitely going to swoon into your arms tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope you’re right,” Sokka said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko stood in front of his mirror wearing a pair of brown slacks and a belt, conflicted. On the one hand, he could wear the burgundy sweater that was both comfortable and accentuated his body. On the other hand, he could wear the ocean blue shirt with wave patterns on it that was stylish and breathable. He glanced at his phone, but there were no messages from Aang. He’d have to make the decision on his own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Zuko, this is Sokka,” he muttered to himself. “His favorite color is blue, right? I should wear the blue one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But as Zuko thought about it, he wasn’t sure blue </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sokka’s favorite color. Sokka certainly wore a lot of blue, but Sokka also unironically wore pink hot pants in college because, quote, they made him feel invincible, unquote. Zuko grabbed his phone, dropping both of the shirts on his bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko: Katara, what’s Sokka’s favorite color? Is it blue?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara: Uh, maybe? Why are you asking me?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko: Reconnaissance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara: You’re ridiculous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara: Isn’t tonight your guys’ first date?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko: Yeah, it is. Can you tell that I’m nervous?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara: No, you hide it very well</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko: I appreciate the sarcasm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara: Tell you what, send me a picture of your options, and I’ll tell you which one Sokka will like the best.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko: Thanks, Kat</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko took mirror selfies with both the burgundy sweater and the ocean blue shirt. It was tricky getting the lighting just right, but eventually he decided garbage quality would have to do. He sent the pics to Katara and waited. He went to his dresser and took out a single gold stud from his jewelry box. He only had one ear pierced, and although he normally wore a flesh toned spacer to keep it open tonight he felt like adding a little sparkle to his look. Something to catch Sokka’s eye. His phone pinged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Katara: Go with the burgundy sweater. Trust me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko: Okay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara: Have fun tonight~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko donned the sweater and checked his reflection one last time. Should he put his hair up? Leave it down? In the end he decided it would be more hassle to keep tucking it behind his ear and secured it in a top knot. There was nothing left to do but put on his shoes and jacket, and leave to meet Sokka. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka loitered by the light rail station platform. He wore a yellow beanie to keep his ears warm in the chill wind. One of his hands was shoved in his pocket, while the other scrolled through instagram on his phone. Zuko would be arriving soon, and he was torn between forcing himself to stand nonchalantly leaning against this pillar or running three blocks and jumping in a lake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The train pulled into the platform, and Sokka looked up, half agony, half hope. Zuko stepped out, and Sokka felt his breath leave him. He wore a black overcoat, which was open to reveal a familiar red burgundy sweater. Zuko, for his part, looked around the platform until his eyes found Sokka, and his lips twitched up into a small, hesitant smile. Sokka stashed his phone and pushed off from the pillar, walking over to Zuko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he said, and he couldn’t keep the smile from his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Zuko replied, a little breathy. “Were you waiting long?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only my entire life,” Sokka said, hoping the joke would cover his own nerves. Zuko almost laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then we’d better get going,” he said. They set out together, hands stuffed into pockets to keep them warm. Sokka looked sideways at Zuko, who pulled his collar up against the wind, and made a decision. They were dating now, after all. He sidled over and slipped his hand into Zuko’s pocket, wrapping their fingers together. Zuko gave him a startled look, but didn’t let go or take Sokka’s hand out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, actually your hand’s really sweaty,” Sokka said a few minutes later as they arrived at the restaurant. He made a show of wiping his hand on his pants while Zuko snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought we were having a moment, Sokka,” he teased. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m sorry that you’re a space heater,” Sokka groused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They entered the restaurant and sat down at their table. Sokka had made the reservations for dinner and, even though arguably he made less money in retail than Zuko currently did between his part time job and the band’s record and merch sales, he insisted on paying for the evening. Zuko blushed a little, but did not protest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Zuko said during the appetizers. They both had beers with dinner, but Sokka privately resolved not to let it go too far. Zuko cleared his throat and continued. “When did you start liking me? The way I like you, I mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka hummed, popping in a dumpling in his mouth to give him chewing and thinking time. It was a bit of a heavy question, but he couldn’t blame Zuko for still being cautious. Sokka’s DJ name was Mixed Signals.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’ve always found you attractive,” Sokka said after swallowing. “You’re a good looking guy, Zuko. Like, my god, have you seen yourself in a mirror? It’s unfair.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko grinned in embarrassment and looked away. Sokka’s heart squeezed at how unbearably cute he was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, you know, it became more than that,” he went on. Sokka took a quick sip of beer to boost his confidence to open up about this. “While I was staying at Gran-gran’s, I kept beating myself up for being a selfish asshole to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If it makes you feel better,” Zuko interrupted at this point. “I had a lot of fun that night, when I wasn’t, you know, thinking that you were just using me to relieve your loneliness.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...guess it does,” Sokka said, uncertain. “But just because it worked out for us, I still shouldn’t have...done it like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a swig of water this time. The server came and took away their empty dumpling plate. Zuko, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed (and his pecs bulging a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>no, Sokka, you just had a drink put the water down</span>
  </em>
  <span>), slid his foot across the floor to hook it around Sokka’s ankle. Sokka let it happen, flushing. He went on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, I think I didn’t realize it until the concert. My dad told me I should be honest with myself about my feelings when I went to him for advice, and,” he stopped and licked his lips. “I spent that entire night wanting your attention, but telling myself I couldn’t have it because it would ruin our friendship. But I sort of fucked that up, didn’t I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko chuckled, a raspy, throaty sound that sent tingles down Sokka’s spine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aang helped me realize how stupid I was being about this whole thing,” he concluded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll have to buy the little goober a present to thank him,” Zuko said, smiling warmly. Sokka did not think his face could get any redder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you?” Sokka countered. “You told me that you were over your crush.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we’re being honest with each other, that was kind of a lie,” Zuko said. “But I thought at the time if I told you that, it would become true. I wasn’t really expecting you to stick your tongue down my throat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Sokka winced.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be,” Zuko said. “I decided while you were in Alaska that, even if I ended up crashing and burning, I was going to follow my feelings this time. My last serious relationship was in college, and for all the mistakes we made and all the times we hurt each other, I wouldn’t trade that for anything. If there was a chance I could have that again with you, I wanted to take it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka regarded Zuko half in awe and half with deep concern. Sokka had dim recollections of the legendary shouting matches Zuko and his then-girlfriend Mai would have in the dorms. They had nevertheless stayed together for three years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” he said. “We need to talk about your weird fixation with verbal abuse in your relationships.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, shame me,” Zuko said with a smirk. Sokka spluttered, but was saved from responding by the arrival of the server with their food. The table was quieter while they ate, but Sokka felt Zuko’s foot lightly rubbing his ankle up and down. The air became charged between them, looks exchanged carrying unspoken questions. Is this okay? Do you want to? Can we..? It was difficult to look away from Zuko’s eyes. It was impossible to meet his gaze. The glint off his earring pulled him back whenever he tried to examine the restaurant’s decorations, or people-watch. Zuko was a bright flame, drawing him in inexorably. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The plan had been to get dinner, go watch a movie, and finish the evening by taking a walk in the park. Was it original? No. Were they nevertheless charmed by the classic nature of the date? Also no. The truth was, neither of them really had any idea what would make a good romantic first date, so they decided to keep it simple and change things if one of them had a better idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their better idea brought them to Zuko’s apartment. Zuko lived on the third floor of a red brick apartment block in St Paul. It was all they could do to keep their hands to themselves as they went from the light rail station to the bus, from the bus stop two blocks to the building’s front door. In that time, the passions kindled over dinner cooled somewhat, and they kept a light stream of banter going. Occasionally one of them would flirt just a bit too hard, and they’d dissolve into embarrassed laughter and be unable to speak for a few minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the steps of the building, Zuko grabbed Sokka’s hand and pulled him in for a kiss. Sokka kept the momentum going, turning around Zuko and walking backwards into the lobby, trailing his boyfriend behind him. It felt so strange to think that Zuko was his b-word now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Boyfriend. </span>
  </em>
  <span>What a concept.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They took the stairs up, chasing each other up the last flight and spilling into the third floor hall. Zuko’s laughter died as he looked in the direction of his door, his expression immediately hardening. Sokka, confused, followed his gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jet,” Zuko said, but it seemed less of a greeting and more of a curse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet was leaning against Zuko’s door, a halo of cigarette smoke around his head, watching Zuko and Sokka with a cool, calculating look. He straightened up when addressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, babe,” Jet said, smirking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t even start,” Zuko said, stalking forward and thrusting a finger in his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooh, getting fresh, are we?” Jet replied, not flinching. “Ignoring my texts, and then taking an attitude.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what you did,” Zuko spat back. “More to the point, so do I.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Jet asked, clearly feigning ignorance. Sokka stood behind Zuko, a silent pillar of support. He also didn’t quite understand what was going on that Zuko would flip from coolly tolerant to burning rage, but he wasn’t going to question it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long have you been messing around with my phone?” Zuko asked. That one got a reaction: Jet’s smug expression fell to become one of concern. “No, don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter. We’re done. Don’t ever contact me again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet didn’t move, however. A second later, he was smiling again, attempting a placating leer while moving forward into Zuko’s space. His hands trailed up to Zuko’s belt, and Sokka took an instinctive step forward, hands balling into fists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Babe, come on,” Jet wheedled. “Don’t take it so seriously. Can’t I be worried about you? I don’t want any punks hassling you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How touching,” Zuko said, grabbing Jet’s wrists. Jet’s leer turned to a grimace. “But it’s not up to you who I am in contact with </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Invading my privacy like that isn’t cute, Jet. It’s gross.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what, you’re gonna drop me? For him?” Jet bristled, jerking his chin at Sokka, who was busily flipping Jet the bird. “He can’t make you feel as good as I can. You know you’ll be texting me in a week begging me to come back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t flatter yourself,” Zuko said, pushing Jet away from his door. Sokka moved in next to him to fill the space, blocking Jet. “You’re dick’s not that memorable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko, come on!” Jet said while Zuko unlocked his door. “Have some pride. You don’t have to settle for this limp weenie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you aren’t out of here in two minutes I’m calling the landlady,” Zuko said. Sokka tried to follow Zuko inside, but Jet grabbed his arm and yanked him back. He got up in Sokka’s face with a sneer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think you can just waltz in and take what’s mine?” he snarled. “This isn’t over between us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First of all, you don’t own Zuko,” Sokka said, trying to keep his cool. At the same time, he had a rising sense of </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck around and find out, wheat mouth boy. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Secondly, I’m not the one who just dumped you. Face it, you lost. Now let go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet sniffed and dropped Sokka, who stumbled back a pace. He shoved his hands in his pockets and pulled out his cigarettes and a lighter. Sokka stood in front of the door as he lit up and blew a cloud in Sokka’s face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” he said angrily. “You win this round. You want my sloppy seconds? Help yourself to daddy issues the cock gobbler. You deserve a bitch slut like him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka’s fist moved before his brain could pump the breaks, and a jarring collision reverberated up the bones in his arm. He hissed, shaking out his hand and wrist and Jet stumbled backwards into the far wall, cigarette dropped to the rug. He held his hand up to his cheek, looking ready to strike back. Zuko reached out and yanked Sokka inside by his coat collar. He slammed the door, his phone dialing the landlady. He slid the chain into place as a pair of fists collided with the door, followed up by a kick. Jet was swearing up and down, but his footsteps retreated down the hall without much followup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, it’s Zuko,” Zuko said into the phone. “You know that friend of mine who sometimes comes by and...yes, the one who smokes in the hall. Can you ban him from the building? He just tried to break into my place. Yes. I’m very sorry about that. Yeah. Thank you. Bye.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko hung up the phone. Sokka stood nearby, trying to massage the feeling back into his knuckles, watching as Zuko pinched his nose and sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was hoping to have that confrontation literally any other time,” he said. “Is your hand okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I might just need some ice,” Sokka said. Zuko went over to the freezer and got an ice pack. He took a hand towel out of one of his kitchenette drawers to wrap it in, and gently held it to Sokka’s hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have to punch him, you know,” Zuko said, but his tone was not upset. Sokka chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but he’s been doing his best to rile me up since the first time I saw him,” Sokka replied. “That was as much for me as to defend your honor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My hero,” Zuko snickered, leaning forward to kiss Sokka on the lips. Sokka smiled into it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” he said as they broke apart. “Maybe the timing’s off, but I feel a strong, hardening urge to salvage this evening.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, you are going to hold this ice pack on your hand for two minutes and then you are getting into my shower,” Zuko growled at him. “Because if I have to spend any longer than that thinking about that smug asshole, then I am going to break something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, eyes on me,” Sokka said, using his free hand to pull Zuko towards him so their hips were flush. Sokka kissed Zuko, swallowing Zuko’s muffled objection. He felt a spark of pleasure sliding down his throat into his belly, just as much as he felt Zuko’s growing erection through his slacks. They broke apart. “I’m right here. Don’t think about anything else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko kissed him again, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck it</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Sokka thought, if he had bruised knuckles for the next few weeks it was worth it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The water was warm flowing down Sokka’s back. Zuko stood in front of him, facing away to lean against the shower wall as Sokka gently lathered soap over the firm planes of muscle of his back. He ran his hands down Zuko’s sides and over his waist to rub little circles just above his buttocks. Zuko hummed, clearly enjoying the sensation as Sokka pressed harder, deepening the massage. He dragged his thumbs up either side of Zuko’s spinal column, pressing the tension away, diffusing it into the muscle tissue on either side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’s this?” Sokka asked, squeezing the tension out of Zuko’s shoulders and stepping forward to close the space between them. He moved his hands down, reaching around the front to massage Zuko’s abdomen, resting his chin on Zuko’s soapy shoulder. Zuko hummed again, turning to face Sokka and kissing him on the cheek. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It feels nice,” he said, pressing himself flush with Sokka’s body. Sokka shuddered at the contact, his stiffening erection sliding right into the sudsy gap between Zuko’s cheeks. Zuko made an appreciative moan, grinding into him and arching his back just a fraction. Sokka’s hands wandered up to Zuko’s chest, ghosting over his nipples and eliciting a surprised gasp. They stood like that for a while, Zuko moving his body into Sokka’s while Sokka teased him with light touches and small bites along his shoulder and neck. The water had washed the soap away when Zuko finally stepped forward. Sokka’s dick sprang up, but moments later was sandwiched between their bodies as Zuko pressed himself up against Sokka, kissing him deeply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My turn,” Zuko said, breaking the kiss and sliding down Sokka’s front, planting kisses like he was mapping every inch of Sokka’s chest and abs with his lips. His hands were fire, dragging down Sokka’s sides to hold his hips in place. He nuzzled the wet tangled curls around the base of Sokka’s cock, and inhaled through his nose contentedly. Sokka blushed madly, reaching behind him to shut the water off so it wouldn’t flow into Zuko’s face. Zuko flicked his tongue out to take small tastes of Sokka, tiny lapping gestures in rapid succession that drove him mad. He felt his cock harden, eyes closing as Zuko began to lightly pump him with one hand while focusing liberal attention on his perineum. It was a strange sensation, not pleasurable in itself, but rather enhancing the sensitivity he felt in other areas. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko, so fucking help me, stop teasing,” Sokka gasped, his head thrown back, hands covering his eyes. The sensations--in his cock, in his belly, radiating out to his limbs--were becoming too much. Zuko smirked--he felt it against his skin </span>
  <em>
    <span>that complete ass</span>
  </em>
  <span>--and slowly took Sokka into his mouth. It only took a few more pumps to push him over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko, wait, shit, I’m gonna cum!” Sokka whined, and Zuko clamped himself firmly down on Sokka as the pressure built, then spiked, and released in crashing waves. He let out a loud, gasping breath and put a steadying hand on the wall of the shower as he doubled over, his other hand grabbing Zuko’s shoulder. He saw stars, or maybe it was the glint of gold off Zuko’s earring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko swallowed before releasing Sokka. He looked up and licked his lips, wiping off the excess saliva and cum with his hand and looking every bit like a smug pygmy puma that just caught a stubborn crane fish. Sokka’s heart thumped at the sight. He could definitely get used to that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spirits, Zuko,” he said through heaving breaths.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s dry off,” Zuko said, standing up and draping his arms over Sokka’s shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, but you--,” Sokka started, but he still wasn’t quite coherent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m not finished with you,” Zuko whispered into Sokka’s ear, his nasal exhalations tickling Sokka and sending fresh waves of heat down towards his groin. “But we should move to the bedroom.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Sokka said. “Yeah, okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s bed was pushed against the wall. Sokka leaned against a propped up pillow, marveling at the situation he found himself in. He sat with his legs sprawled out, Zuko kneeling across his lap, one hand planted against the wall next to Sokka’s face. His muscular body curled in on itself reflexively, his nipples taut and his breath coming in short gasps. Sokka’s hands were both occupied. His left hand was wrapped around Zuko’s shaft, pumping slowly up and down. He used his thumb to spread the precum leaking out of Zuko’s cock, eliciting keening moans. His right hand was curled under Zuko’s perineum, fingers working around Zuko’s hole, teasing and massaging. Zuko moved himself up and down, trying to impale himself on those fingers, but it was Sokka’s turn to deny him the buildup and release he wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, please,” Zuko begged. “I need you inside me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the hurry?” Sokka purred, pushing up against Zuko’s hole with the second knuckle of his middle finger, spreading him open enough to cause him to whine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, please, fuck,” Zuko’s head fell forward against Sokka’s shoulder. “Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm, not yet,” Sokka said, pumping Zuko harder. Zuko’s hand slipped off the wall to grip Sokka’s other shoulder hard. Sokka released Zuko, who nearly collapsed forward in a shaking mess--his cock throbbing, dripping precum, sweat beading on his broad back--and grabbed a nearby bottle of lube. He liberally applied it to his hands, rubbing them together to generate warmth, and slipped his hands back into place. Zuko incoherently pleaded with him as he pumped his cock more vigorously, and after rubbing around Zuko’s hole a few times he finally inserted a finger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko moaned long and loud as he pushed himself down Sokka’s finger almost to the base. Sokka winced, his other fingers bent awkwardly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, hold up there buddy,” Sokka said, releasing Zuko’s cock and tipping his chin up so they were eye to eye. Zuko’s eyes were unfocused with lust. “You’re gonna break my fingers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just hurry up,” Zuko rasped, and Sokka felt him clench hard around his finger, shuddering. When the shaking subsided, Sokka inserted a second finger, encountering little resistance. Zuko began to undulate, making Sokka’s fingers swirl around inside him. His moans became shorter, higher, more desperate. Sokka held his arm tense and firm beneath Zuko, who seemed on the brink of losing all self control.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had no idea,” Sokka breathed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Zuko asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That you could be this unbelievably sexy,” Sokka said, grabbing Zuko’s cock again. His own dick was reacting to the show, pulsing up and down as it grew and hardened. Zuko managed a grin as he bucked up and down on Sokka’s hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad,” he gasped. “You like it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’ve wanted this for ages.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then cum for me,” Sokka said, squeezing Zuko’s cock, causing Zuko to gasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-no, not yet,” he said. “Want more.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have all night,” Sokka purred, leaning forward to work Zuko’s collarbone with his mouth. “Fuck, Zuko, I haven’t wanted anything this badly in ages.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, ha,” Zuko gasped. “What an honor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka bit him, and he cried out, his orgasm ripping through him. He clamped down on Sokka’s fingers and </span>
  <em>
    <span>yep that was the hand he had punched Jet with ow</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Cum splashed across Sokka’s front, covering his abs and chest in pungent, dripping splatters. Zuko collapsed into him, his chest heaving, and Sokka slowly withdrew his fingers. He cracked his knuckles, wincing, and then simply held Zuko to him, lips curling into a smile. He breathed in Zuko’s scent, burying his nose in his hair and kissing the top of his head. This was nice. This felt right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When his breathing was better under control, Zuko slowly sat up and fixed Sokka with a hazy look. He smirked and licked his lips, glancing down at Sokka’s still-hardening erection. He stumbled up off the bed and went to his dresser where he had a packet of wet wipes and a box of condoms. He tossed the packet to Sokka, who mopped up his front--it was hot as hell in the moment, but drying cum was not pleasant--and ripped open a condom with his teeth. Sokka dropped the wet wipes. Zuko clambered back onto the bed and took Sokka’s dick in his hands. He unrolled the condom onto it, a quick, impatient gesture that caused Sokka to wince slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka,” Zuko said, grabbing Sokka’s chin and pulling his face forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Sokka answered. He felt entirely at Zuko’s mercy at that moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want you to fuck me until I can’t see straight,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As you command, my prince,” Sokka said, chuckling as Zuko swooped in for a deep, long kiss. When they broke apart, Sokka got up onto his knees and reached for the lube again while Zuko settled down on all fours and spread his legs apart, ass in the air and waiting. Sokka knelt in the space between Zuko’s legs, spreading lube between his cheeks. He placed the head of his cock on Zuko’s hole, rubbing it around, relaxing him open before pushing inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko gasped, a surprised exhalation that turned into a protracted moan as Sokka slowly slid further and further in. Sokka didn’t consider himself to be overly large, but certainly the events of the evening had caused him to swell up to a larger size than he normally got just from masturbating (Zuko by contrast </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>fairly well endowed, and Sokka thanked the spirits that he was so eager to bottom because </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing was a bridge too far for their first date as far as Sokka was concerned). Zuko pushed himself back into Sokka’s hips, his buttocks two plump, muscular globes couching Sokka’s cock between and inside them. Sokka grabbed them and kneaded them with his fingers as he thrust in and out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His motions were small at first as he admired the feeling of being snugly and deeply inside Zuko. As he thrust, he could feel Zuko contracting and relaxing with him, allowing him to probe different angles, trying different sensations. Zuko’s arms trembled and shook, and he fell forward with his chest on the bed. He cried and moaned with every thrust, clenching when Sokka’s cock was deep inside, hips bucking up and down. He hooked his feet around Sokka’s ankles, pushing himself back into Sokka’s hips hard and fast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Spirits</span>
  </em>
  <span> that’s deep,” Sokka breathed, spots forming in his vision as Zuko took control of the pace. It didn’t matter what Sokka did, it was seemingly not enough for Zuko, whose body moved faster, thrust back harder, pushed Sokka in deeper. His moans had become higher pitched whines, which awoke in Sokka a need to dominate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leaned forward and grabbed Zuko’s biceps. He lifted, pulling Zuko into a quasi-seated position on his lap. Zuko cried out as his full weight pushed him down suddenly on Sokka’s cock, but before he could try to take matters back into his own hands, Sokka adjusted his grip to pin his arms securely. A low whine floated up from Zuko’s throat as he wiggled in Sokka’s lap, trying to thrust down but unable to break Sokka’s hold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want this?” Sokka growled in his ear, smiling fiercely and thrusting up once. Zuko cried out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, fuck, yes, Sokka, give it to me!” he begged. Sokka thrust up once again. Zuko shuddered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want?” Sokka asked, biting down on Zuko’s neck and thrusting up a third time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want your cock, Sokka, fuck, I want it, please,” Zuko begged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Say my name again,” Sokka ordered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka,” Zuko said. Sokka thrusted up into him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you want it, say my name,” Sokka ordered again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka,” Zuko whined. Thrust. “Sokka!” Thrust. “Sokka!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka sank his teeth into Zuko’s shoulder, thrusting hard into him every time he screamed his name. Zuko’s back was slick with sweat, and Sokka adjusted his grip again, hugging Zuko’s body close, his thrusts turning into a swift, controlled rolling in his hips rather than the full body pounding he had been doing earlier. Their lovemaking became more wild as they held each other more intimately.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s change,” Sokka said, slowly pulling out of Zuko. Zuko whined, but collapsed onto the bed, chest heaving. Sokka applied more lube to his cock, and then flipped Zuko over onto his back. Zuko’s eyes were hooded, his mouth slack with desire. He spread his legs wide apart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka,” he begged. Sokka settled on top of him, his cock sliding in without any resistance. Zuko gasped and sobbed, arms wrapping around Sokka to pull him in close. “Sokka, fuck me, please. I want to feel you cum.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My prince is so demanding,” Sokka teased, thrusting into Zuko hard but slow. Zuko screamed, digging his fingernails into Sokka’s back. His legs folded in and clamped to Sokka’s sides, lifting his hips and letting Sokka’s cock slide in deeper and deeper. Zuko mumbled incoherently, wiping the sweat from his face as Sokka’s pounding became faster, hungrier. Sokka was hanging by a thread when Zuko opened eyes and grabbed Sokka’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you,” he said, face radiant and glistening. Sokka’s heart swelled, and he kissed Zuko deeply. Then his cock swelled and he came. He thrust hard into Zuko, shuddering wave after shuddering wave causing his body to push himself in as deep as he could go. Zuko’s mouth gasped open in a wide, surprised ‘oh!’ as he rode it out. Sokka dimly felt a sticky wetness fill the physical space between them, but his mind was a high, soaring cloud of endorphins and infatuation. His eyes fluttered shut as his orgasm subsided, one final thrust pushing Zuko far enough that his head and shoulders were hanging off the side of the bed. Zuko’s arms relaxed and his head fell back, exposing his bruised and shining neck. Sokka leaned down and planted a light kiss there. He braced Zuko with his arms before pulling out--Zuko gasped at the sudden emptiness--and pulled them both onto the bed properly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They lay there, a heaving, tangled mess of limbs and bodies, slick with sweat and cum. Sokka stared at Zuko’s ceiling, the giddiness of coitus settling into a pleasant afterglow. He reached over to find Zuko’s hand, weaving their fingers together. He rolled his head over, smiling at Zuko, who was looking at him enraptured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Zuko said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so,” Zuko said, speech slurring a little. “So fucking happy right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too,” Sokka affirmed, squeezing Zuko’s hand. “That was amazing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re amazing, Sokka,” Zuko said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re amazing, Zuko,” Sokka eloquently retorted. Zuko laughed, covering his face with his free hand. Sokka drank in the sound of his raspy, throaty mirth. “I love you, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?” Zuko looked over as sharply as he could given his motions were slow and languid in the afterglow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you, too,” Sokka simply repeated. Zuko gaped at him, and then chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he said, his smile uncontainable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They lay there a minute longer, unable to do more than exchange glances and snicker at how ridiculous they looked, covered in sweat, hair a mess. Eventually, Zuko got up to shower, leaving Sokka to lie still and contemplate the evening. They’d done some things and said some things that were all pretty serious and not easy to walk back from. The L-word was not one Sokka had used much even when he was dating Suki. He’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>thought</span>
  </em>
  <span> it a lot, but actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>saying</span>
  </em>
  <span> it had taken a lot of groundwork and buildup, and even then it became more of an understood thing than a declared statement. Their dynamic just didn’t quite work that way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With Zuko, though, it felt...appropriate. Fitting. There was a lot that could be packed into that one word: friendly affection; brotherly familiarity; physical attraction; emotional closeness; shared mirth; comfort; security. Some people thought it was too big a concept to invoke so early--it was still their first date, technically. But love was simply what Sokka felt. Why not just be honest about it, for once?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shifted to the edge of the bed and sat up, waiting for his head to stop spinning before standing. He removed the condom from his now quite flaccid dick and tied it off. It was...surprisingly full, considering it wasn’t his first load of the evening. He wondered idly if it would be his last as he padded through Zuko’s apartment towards the bathroom, tossing the condom in the trash as he went. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mind if I join?” he asked Zuko as he stepped in, steam from the shower filling the air and totally fogging the mirror. Zuko slid the curtain back and grinned, his hair soapy. He grabbed Sokka’s hand and pulled him into the shower, causing Sokka to yelp at the sudden deluge of water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” he said, smacking Zuko’s chest as Zuko wrapped him in a close embrace. “Be nice to your boyfriend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh, shh, let me have this,” Zuko said, burying his face in Sokka’s neck. Sokka huffed, but brought his hands down to loosely wrap around Zuko’s waist. They stood there in the warm water, holding each other and simply feeling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko,” Sokka said after a minute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can feel your dick against my leg.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you take that tone with me,” Sokka said, squirming. Zuko hugged him closer. “Hey!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka,” Zuko said, pulling back to look Sokka in the eye. “Do you think you can fuck me again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...what?” Sokka asked, confused. “You don’t want a turn on top?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” Zuko said breathily, rutting against Sokka. “Agni, your dick’s mind blowing. I need it inside me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Okay,” Sokka said, kissing Zuko as the shower became steamier.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat at Denny’s waiting for their food to arrive. Sokka was wearing one of Zuko’s shirts, which was oversized, sleeves resting down around his elbows. The graphic on the front was a stoat goose with a knife in its beak and the caption ‘Peace was never an option’. He was checking the notifications on his phone: a cute pic of Ty Lee and Suki at an ice skating rink, Ty Lee throwing an impressive pose in the background; a few inspirational kaons from Aang, plus a picture of a veggie hot pot that looked pretty mouthwatering, considering; a video from bowling night in which Toph somehow managed to get two strikes in a row, to Katara’s chagrin. The group chat was quiet, but Katara had sent some innocent queries about date night, and Aang had spammed him with messages between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., clearly drunk off his ass. Sokka pulled his collar down to reveal the lines of bruises Zuko had left and snapped a pic for the goofball’s benefit. For this selfie, he tilted his head and stuck his tongue out. Zuko looked over and snorted, shaking his head. Sokka smiled fondly at him, enjoying the sight of Zuko, relaxed and happy, wearing a loose black tee with his hair down. It was very fetching.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka’s phone pinged at that moment. He looked down. He’d matched someone on Tinder. Furrowing his brow, he instinctively opened the app to check the notification. He vaguely recognized the profile as someone he’d swiped right all those weeks ago when this all began. Moments later, they sent him a message. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>User: good morning!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>User: I love your profile</span>
</p><p>
  <span>User: do you want to get lunch later?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He snorted, which caused Zuko to look up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Zuko asked curiously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Sokka said. “Someone just messaged me on Tinder that I’d swiped on weeks ago.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see,” Zuko said, nodding. “Shame they didn’t do it sooner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, sucks to be them,” Sokka said with a shrug and then deleted the app. He didn’t need it anymore.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The end! Thank you all for indulging this little fantasy! </p><p>That's it for our boys for now, but I have been working on more Zukka projects to distract myself from the apocalypse, so stay tuned.</p>
        </blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27387928">Of Ironic Tinder Dates and Excellent Decision-Making</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirdWavePorrimist/pseuds/ThirdWavePorrimist">ThirdWavePorrimist</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div></div></div>
</body>
</html>